The Shadow's Sothiya
by Kaleeco
Summary: The King of Shadows is given the duty to keep his race alive by finding a human mate to produce the next heir. If the king dies before he can collect his mate, the Dark World will fall to its slow demise as no more Shadows will be created. In one month the king must make his mate fall in love with him, or then his mission will be incomplete...AU (Dark Link x OC)
1. Chapter 1

**A.N.: Hello! My name is Kaleeco. It is nice to meet you all! I'm new to this site (as in I just discovered it about one day ago), but I do understand the basics of writing. :) I hope you all will enjoy this chapter, and have a wonderful day!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda.**

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_To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to change you is a great accomplishment in life. People are illogical, self-centered, and unaccommodating; however, one must hide these imperfections behind a mask in order to earn false friends and dignity. _

_The good you do today will be forgotten by tomorrow, and the faults you create will be remembered for the rest of your life and after. That is why you must put up your façade and leave it up at all times, or then others will notice the flaws in your personality. One judgement will lead to another as word moves around, driving you deep into a pit of loneliness as everyone begins to classify you as an outsider. And all you wanted was acceptance for who you were…_

_There are few "lucky" ones, however; ones who simply are pure, and void of any cruel thoughts or deception. They are nearly automatically accepted into society as they spread their kindness to others, falling into the world of fallacious beliefs without a choice. These people are known as "Sothiyas" in the Dark World…_

_The Dark World was created by the unconscious aspects of personalities in the Factual World in which the dark personas of people take form as their exact opposite. "Shadows" of a person living in the Factual World live in this destructive, alternate universe until they die, for when the host of a Shadow dies, so does the Shadow._

_Due to the refusal of the least desirable characteristics in one's personality; the Shadow is largely negative, and carries only small positive features depending on the person who they took after. It is difficult to converse with one without fearing for your life based on how aggressive they become._

_Shadows are not often seen roaming in the Factual World, but if you were to spot one, it is recommended that you run as far away as possible. You will have no trouble identifying a Shadow, for their skin is coal-black, and their eyes are scarlet red; but sometimes, they may disguise themselves as humans, and your only way of recognition is by looking into their eyes for the crimson shade of blood lust within them, which will ultimately lead you to death._

_Shadows will live for as long as you do, but can die by other causes… They are extremely difficult to kill due to their abnormal talents and skills that have yet to be fully discovered because of the lack of recorded deaths and successful captures of a Shadow._

_However._

_The Shadows have one weakness that have nearly sent their race to extinction many times before. It is all up to the one known as "The King of Shadows" to stop this._

_The King of Shadows is given the duty to keep the group alive by finding a human mate from the Factual World to produce the next heir. If the king dies before he can collect his mate, then the Dark World will fall to its slow demise as no more Shadows will be produced. It is extremely important for the king to find his mate as soon as he becomes of age…_

_The problem with this, though, is that The King of Shadows can only take a Sothiya as a mate, or then he and his mate will both be cursed with infertility and the possibility of birthing only daughters…_

_As the king comes closer and closer to the year of age, many of his finest warriors will travel across the land to find the rare Sothiya, spending years of constant search for the perfect woman to bear the children of the king. Once she is found, the king himself will enter the Factual World, and steal the girl away from her life forcefully, marrying her before submitting her to sexual intercourse in exactly one week (see Chapter 3). She will then spend the rest of her life in the Dark World, contemplating suicide and living the horrible life known as "the Tainted's Abuse."_

_Sothiyas do not have a Shadow living in the Dark World, which makes it more difficult for the King of Shadows to find his mate due to the lack of records on her. Also, it has been noted that male Sothiyas are more common than females, making female Sothiyas exceedingly strenuous to find. In past generations, humans believed that the Shadows' race had finally gone extinct, but just as soon as the notion is believed, another Shadow is spotted._

_Humans have been warned that when sightings of these dark beings increase in number, it is best to lock your daughters away for the time until it all passes, or then she may be the next Sothiya to be taken away from your world…and all because of everyone's wish to be perfect, the poor child will have to suffer in the Factual World's stead for her entire life._

_~Chapter 1 from "Legends of the Past: the Shadow People" by Leonardo the Wise, Hylian Mage of the Eldin Province_

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Everyday was the same. Nothing more, and nothing less.

My day would begin with my awakening; my maid, Malia, would send me to the washroom so I could bathe myself before she would help me dress. Afterwards, breakfast would be served at dawn in the dining room, leaving me to myself to think about what was to come in the next hour. My father, as always, will appear briefly in the room, standing tall with his broad shoulders pinned back while I would rise from my seat and curtsy in his direction…without another word, he would then leave me to my business. Breakfast would then come to an end as I would walk to my study room, greeting the many hardworking servants in our manor as I passed by them in the long corridors of my home. While in the study, I would be given lessons over the history of our country, and then I would be sent outside to visit my many friends from down the lane and eat lunch with several of them…After that, I would be guided back home for my regular afternoon duties and dinner before returning back to my room with exhaustion as I change clothes once more and fall asleep.

So as I laid here in my bed, minutes before Malia would enter my room to announce the Sun's arrival, I sighed quietly at the repetition of my incessant life. As wonderful as it was to be fed fully, and dressed in the most finest clothes in Hyrule, and attend balls with striking men and powerful rulers… I didn't like it.

I wished that I could live out in the country, where instead of learning, I would work long and arduous jobs in the unbearable heat. I would meet a kind and sweet boy who would sweep me off my feet instead of being given away to an overbearing and cocky old man who seemed to lust after young ladies without shame. I would have many children, grow old with my husband, and die happily, knowing that my life was complete…

But I knew none of this would happen, for I had a duty.

A duty to serve as the only child of the Julliard household.

It was difficult to forget my job because of the sad, and grief-stricken face my father always wore as he would pass by me quietly down the hall. I was sure that if my mother were here, she would save him from his woes, and kiss his nose like she used to when I was little…

My last fleeting memory of her was of my father leaning down so she could kiss him while she was on her deathbed, her sickly pale arms twitching slightly as she tried to reach up and touch his face. Love filled her eyes, mixing with hints of pain as we all enjoyed one another's presence for what would be the last time.

I could tell my father wasn't happy. His wish for a son was discarded when the Goddesses gave him a daughter and a sick wife. As the only child, it was my job to find a husband from one of the high-classed households in order to move our name further up the scale of power. The more power your family name contained, the more respect your family would earn…

After my mother's death, I was sent to study the many languages and historical background of the Hylians to help improve my desirability. Most suitors would look for women who were intelligent, yet dumb enough to do whatever they asked of them; obedience was a very important trait to learn in this world of hierarchy.

Anyways, my father became somewhat…_distant_ after my mother's passing; locking himself away in his bedroom, and only coming out when he was needed by the royal family, and for parties at the castle held by the Nohansens.

I never resented him for his absence in my life; I understood how he felt about her, and the disappointment that followed him around because of the lack of a son. The compassion my father had for my mother was unlike anything I had ever seen before, and just the thought of it all made me wish that I would one day have the same relationship they had with my significant other…but once again, I had to remind myself of my job in this life; romance would have to wait.

_Knock. Knock_. I jumped out of my thoughts, pressing my face deep into the silky fabric of my pillow when the light footfalls of my maid resounded against the wooden flooring. Her small hands shook my shoulder gently, prompting me to awaken from my "slumber."

"Time to wake up, dear…it is yet another beautiful day the Goddesses have blessed us with." Her old and cracked voice called, prompting me to open my eyes. I sat up from my bed, rubbing my face before brushing back my long, wavy hair with my hands. Glancing to my left, the ashen face of Malia came into view; her visage containing the same smile she wore nearly everyday.

"Good morning." I croaked out, swinging my legs off the edge of my mattress to stand up. Malia pulled me to my feet, tugging at the sleeve of my cream-colored nightgown to guide me toward my large dresser. I promptly sat down on my cushioned bench, grasping my glass brush between my thin fingers as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. In the background by my bed, Malia was collecting the sheets, balling them up tightly to bring them to the washroom for cleaning. Her dull, gray hair was pulled up into a tight bun with several strands to frame her wrinkled face. Her ochre eyes seemed exhausted as she hoisted the sheets over her shoulder, glancing in my direction as if she could sense my lingering gaze.

"Hurry up, child, we can't spend too much time dawdling around…" She said, watching me as I quickly ran the brush through my dark locks.

When I finished, I turned to see Malia struggling with the heavy load of bed clothing. "Would you like some help?" I asked, smiling when she flashed me a grin.

"We do this everyday…I'm sure you already know what my answer will be." She said with a small sigh. Pointing in the direction of my door, she stumbled over to the wooden entrance, her legs shaking slightly as she powered her way over to grab the handle. Setting my brush down, I take one last look through the looking-glass, double-checking my appearance before jogging to Malia. I opened the door for her, holding it as she thanked me without emotion. The two of us walk down the familiar residence hall that I have learned to call home; memories of me playing "House" and "Jacks" flashing through my mind as we traveled toward the washroom.

"Where is Octavius?" I asked, feeling out of the blue with my question. Octavius, my advisor and aide, would normally meet us outside of my room to list off the things that were planned for me today before leaving me to my business. He was one score older than I, and his family was several scales below ours.

"He has decided to take the day off. I believe his mother has caught quite the nasty bug, and has been bedridden for the past few days…" She said, stopping by a group of maids to hand them my comforter and sheets. We continued down the hall in silence, enjoying one another's company as we traveled the usual route to the bath. My thoughts were filled of Octavius and his family.

My advisor was quite the man… He was very strict when it came to me, and he always made sure that I was present to all activities on time and ready to go. I remembered being late to my lunch with the Tearwood family many years ago due to my classes running overtime… Octavius was not pleased with me at all; he sent me to my room without dinner as a way to punish me for my tardiness.

I was pleased to have him as my advisor and aide, for I knew that he was just trying to help turn me into an acceptable and elegant young lady. I truly felt sorry for his mother; I knew she would be turning the age of sixty quite soon, which was quite the accomplishment on her part.

Entering the small door at the end of the hall, I stripped out of my nightgown beside of the wooden bath. The steam from the hot water brushed against my face, waking me from any tired feeling I had left. Looking down at my body, I groaned when I noticed that I was still wearing my slip from yesterday…

"How many times have I told you?" Malia asked from behind me, tugging at the ribbons that held the slip together, "You need to take this off before you go to bed…it's not healthy for you!"

"I know…it's a bad habit." I said, climbing out of it to leave me naked.

"A bad habit that needs to be fixed! Now get washed…your towels are beside the tub, and don't get your hair wet like last time." She said, handing me a bar of soap before exiting the room without another word. I gazed into the bubbles in my bath, my nose scrunching up slightly as I stepped into the steaming water. Pulling my hair up, I wrapped it into a towel to prevent it from getting wet; last time I fell into the tub, it took the _entire_ day for my hair dry out due to how thick it was.

For several minutes, I relaxed in the water, allowing myself to get used to the heat before rubbing the bar of soap over my body. A razor sat idly beside my towels…

I shaved my body absent-mindedly, being careful not to cut myself when it came to the difficult crevices on my knees and elbows; however, I made a small and painful mark on my thigh, causing me to groan as I plunged my leg into the water to stop the bleeding. Afterwards, I sat quietly in my tub, sliding my back against the smooth wood as I plunged half of my face into the now-warm water. I wondered what would happen if I took the day off… Octavius wasn't here to announce my schedule, so who would? I hoped that I would get some free time to do whatever I wanted; I had a quilt that needed to be completed, and I was more than halfway done with it.

I stood from my spot, grabbing the white towel to my right to dry myself off. My skin felt smooth against the cloth, and my body experienced the feeling of genuine happiness as the sore muscles loosened while I rubbed the towel against them. My favorite part of the day was sadly over as I wrapped my small frame in the cloth, waiting for Malia to bring me my clothes so I could begin the day.

But as I waited and waited, no one came. Usually, I was given twenty minutes to clean myself before I would have to head downstairs for breakfast; however, it felt like it had already been longer than that. I padded over to the small door that would lead to the hall, and pressed my ear against it.

_Strange…_ I thought. Maybe I was just imagining it? No voices filtered throughout the manor (from what I could tell). I swiftly walked over to the window on the far wall, my heart shuddering against my ribcage as I gazed out into the garden at the back of the house. I surveyed the area, surprised to find no workers caring for the hedges or planting flowers by the archway that would lead to the maze in the back. It was the beginning of the Summer season, so why were there no gardeners?

"Eliana!" I turned with a start, relieved to find Malia standing in the doorway. Any frightening thoughts I had vanished from my mind almost instantly. "What are you doing by the window? Get away from there!"

"Sorry!" I apologized quickly, stepping toward the old woman as she closed the door. Shaking her head, she pulled me behind the set of blinds on the right side of the room, closing them to help me change into my clothes. As I slipped into the beige corset, Malia began to lace up the back of the bodice before commanding me to lift my arms. She slid my dress over my head-it was pale-green with a long body and short sleeves, embroidered with lace-and clasped my necklace around my neck before pulling the towel off my head to allow my dark-brown hair to cascade down my back. Handing me a pair of white flats, Malia guided me toward the full-length body mirror, asking me if I was pleased with how I looked.

Personally, green was my least favorite color, but it was also the color of our household; I was required to wear the color in public to signify my level of importance. It also matched the color of my eyes, which was a blueish-green color that I had inherited from my father. Nodding my head, I was taken outside of the room, and was greeted by a large group of young peasants who were passing by. We all were heading downstairs toward the dining hall for breakfast; however, I would be eating in a separate room.

"-Were you there when it happened?" A loud voice seemed to stick out of them all. Turning my head slightly, I saw two young boys-about fifteen-years-old-who were chatting loudly with one another. One boy was missing several teeth, and the other had freckles covering his entire body…

"-no, but Markus was." The boy with freckles said, his eyes widening as he threw his arms out to emphasize what he was saying, "He said that an_ intruder_ was trying to get into the manor…"

I rose my eyebrows at the information. An intruder?

"Woah…I heard some of the maids say somethin' about them havin' to send the guards to drive the man away."

"Where was he? At the entrance gate?"

"Yeah. He wasn't harmin' nothin' though… Accordin' to Markus, he said he was new to the area, and left without another word. Oh! And get this! This guy _had red eyes…_"

"Aw, I swear to Nayru you better quit pullin' my leg-" I couldn't hear the rest of the boys' conversation, for they had turned down a hallway that would lead to the outside. My mind was racing as I thought about what happened; was that why Malia was late to pick me up? This man seemed to be causing quite the disturbance, for now that I listened, everyone (except Malia) was talking about him and the strange eye color he possessed.

I couldn't blame them though…this was the most interesting thing that had happened here in the longest time. Now that I thought about it, I was curious as well to who this man with red eyes was…

Turning into the dining room, I sat at the head of the long table, thanking Malia once again for her hard work as she left me to my thoughts. I should have asked her about the intruder; she was the head of our staff and would most likely know about what went on outside not even one hour ago.

I slouched in my seat, using this time to relax for a moment. I fixated my gaze on the long row of tall windows the covered the West side of the building, studying what was outside with interest. Trees shielded the side of the building of the blistering heat, reminding me that Summer had arrived just a few days ago. A small breeze pushed its way through the leaves on the branches, causing them to dance elegantly as time went by. The familiar conviction of life filled me as my eyes glazed over; memories of my mother playing with me in the grass filtering through my mind.

It was times like these that I lived for, where I could just sit and appreciate the sights and sounds and smells of the world. Time could freeze over right at this moment, and I wouldn't mind…being trapped forever in this feeling was something I would enjoy.

Of course, I wouldn't be able to do that, for Helena was entering the room with my breakfast-a standard meal with scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, fruit, and pastries filled with sweet cream cheese and covered with an apple-berry sauce. My imagination would have to wait.

"I'm sorry, Miss Eliana, but we are short on cinnamon rolls right now…" Helena said, bowing awkwardly after setting my food in front of me. Helena was an attractive woman at the age of twenty-three, which we were both very close in age. Although she was older than I, Helena was very shy around me, and acted as though she were afraid of making mistakes. She had worked for us since the end of the Winter season, yet she still seemed to be getting used to her life here with us.

"No need to apologize, Helena, thank you for the food." I smiled at her, sitting up straight in my seat. The woman scampered back to the kitchen, mumbling out a good-bye as she left. Grabbing my utensil, I thanked the Goddesses for the meal before diving straight into the eggs, eating slowly as I savored the buttery flavor of them. Cinnamon rolls were my favorite when I was growing up and they still are now, but scrambled eggs came in at a close second.

I ate quietly as I waited for my father to make his appearance like always… We had an ongoing system in the morning where he would enter the room, greeting me with a nod of his head. I would stand from chair and say the same thing I always said, "Good morning, father."

Then we would be off on our separate ways.

I shoved a piece of bacon into my mouth, relishing the flavor that exploded on my taste buds while I poured myself a glass of milk. Ordon goat milk was my favorite drink, but I wasn't allowed to have it all the time… Maybe one day, I could visit Ordon village and learn about how they get their goats to produce such fantastic milk…

After I finished my meal, Helena came out to collect my things, asking if my father had stopped by yet. Shaking my head, I watched as the girl swiftly left the room, not bothering to prolong our conversation.

I decided to wait for several more minutes due to the fact that I had no idea what I was supposed to do next. Octavius would normally enter the room after I finished breakfast, but he wasn't here. I may have schooling after this, but I wasn't too positive; it was the weekend, and I rarely had schooling on days like these…

The double doors opened on the far wall in front of me, revealing a short, yet muscular man flanked by his advisors. He wore a light green jacket with many silver buttons lined up on the front. Three, silver stars decorated the collar, showing that the man was the one of the renowned Generals of the Hyrulian Army. His black boots were covered in mud, leaving faint tracks of dirt behind as he walked forward to make himself known. His turquoise-colored eyes narrowed as he pinpointed me at my spot from across the room. I stood to greet the man, waiting for his nod of the head.

But it never came.

"Eliana, you are to report downstairs in the guest room in ten minutes. You will be given instructions by my men from there… Do not leave the lower level until I come and get you myself."

And then he left.

My mouth was opened as I gasped like a fish out of water… My usual good morning hung on my tongue as I watched him exit as swiftly as he came. I hadn't heard him speak so much while in my presence.

It made me happy to know that he still cared to talk to me; although his words were filled with a commanding tone. Smoothing out my dress, I did as my father asked (or more like ordered) and left for the lower levels of our large house, passing many frantic maids and peasants along the way. A confused look crossed my face as I watched two peasants drop their things when a soldier approached them; they both seemed frightened by what the man was telling them…

A hand grabbed my forearm roughly, shaking me out of my daze as I glanced up to a pair of striking blue eyes. "Come with me, you are not safe up here."

I nodded my head, deciding to ask questions later as the tall man dragged me toward the staircase, pulling me down the marble steps roughly. I could feel my pulse both in my throat and under his large hand that was crushing my forearm. We were both breathing in short, chattering breaths as we moved toward the underground guest room near the end of the first hall in the basement.

Quickly opening the door, I was pushed inside abruptly, causing me to trip forward on my dress. I saw an old maid, Opal, sitting in a wooden chair at the far wall, reading a book calmly as I stood up straight. I turned around to face the soldier, seeing the blue-eyed man locking the door. My eyes then caught sight of the scabbard on his hip swinging wildly as he moved…

Goddesses... What was going on? It was against the law to carry a sword without a purpose...

"You are to remain in this room for the next week…No one is to enter or leave this room after today." He said, sounding like a robot as he recited my father's orders. My mouth was set in a permanent frown as I raised my eyebrows in dismay. About two hours ago I was lying in my bed quietly, wishing ridiculous and impossible wishes and thinking about how everyday seemed to be the same… I felt like my life was falling apart.

"What's happening?" My voice cracked slightly as my legs collapsed from underneath me, letting me fall onto the small bed in the center of the room. Questions filled my brain at a rapid pace while I sat; Was my life in danger? Where was my father? Would everyone be ok?

I couldn't ask those questions, though.

My mouth couldn't move fast enough to follow my mind.

"Honestly… I don't know. All I know is that it is my job to protect you at all costs from what is about to happen. Your maidservant will be down shortly to explain."

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**A.N.: I like to think of this story taking place hundreds of years after Ocarina of Time, yet many years before Twilight Princess...so the next reincarnation of Link will be different than the TP and OoT Links. This is an AU, but Zelda, Ganondorf, and Link will be in the story…I haven't decided if I should switch the point of view between chapters, but I guess we will find out next time! Please leave a comment telling me how you think it was, and constructive criticism is welcomed! Have a nice day. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N.: Thanks to IrenePolkadots447 and guest for reviewing! :D I automatically began working on the next chapter the moment I saw the first review. Anyway, this chapter will start off with Dark Link's POV and move on to Eliana's POV. I hope you all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda.**

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"_She was so innocent and sweet…watching her grow up was one of the greatest things I could have ever asked for. Please… If you are reading this, bring my baby home…bring back my Sarah!"_

_~Penelope Tearwood Upshur after her daughter's kidnapping by a mysterious man_

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I have learned in my life that it is better to be hated for what I was than to be loved for what I wasn't.

And now wasn't any different.

"No. That is my final answer." I sneered at the old hag, brushing her off to the side as I focused my attention back on the novel I was reading. I found it quite ironic that I was just reaching the final climax of the fantasy, and the main character was about to discover who the murderer of his family was. I wished everyone would just leave me alone, so I could focus on things that I wanted to do…like finishing my novel.

With a sigh, I tossed the book off to the side, draping my legs over one of the arms of my throne. Stupid Hylians… None of them knew how to write a proper story with a good ending. I could see what was going to happen from a mile away; they should add more twists instead of using the obvious. I started reading the three-hundred paged book two days ago, and I was already several pages away from the ending.

"-for our race!" I glanced down at the old woman, raising my eyebrow as her tanned skin became a darker shade. She needed to learn how to control her emotions; letting your magic slip was a sign of weakness on her part.

I placed my arms behind my head, stretching my back as I spoke to my consultant, "Can you repeat that again?"

The woman seemed enraged by my lack of sympathy, but I didn't care. She had no right to tell me what to do. Although she was my consultant, I was her king; if this were anyone else, I would have murdered them by now for acting in such a rude way.

"_Your highness_…" She gritted through her teeth angrily, "I request that you give me your undivided attention for the next minute." The old woman shook in her sandals as she stepped toward me, clenching her fists tightly. Standing from my chair, I walked down the carpeted staircase slowly, towering over the woman as I urged her to make her point quickly.

I was not in the mood for games; my twenty-second birthday was many days ago, and I could already feel my powers weakening with each passing hour. I had sent the best trackers in our field to go find the Sothiya exactly two years ago, but so far they had found only tiny clues to where she may be hiding. I had at least one month to find her and bed her before time would run out…

"Please consider this, Dark… It would be in your best interest to donate your power to Mathias! He would be able to find the Sothiya in a maximum of _two_ days with your help!" I scoffed at the old hag's wishes, turning away from her as I paced back and forth. I wasn't overlooking her demands, for I knew how important this was to my people, I was just tired of her incessant nagging.

"You expect me to trust that incompetent fool! I thought you were wiser than that, Patricia…" I said, scowling in her direction as I continued my walk. Mathias was my simple-minded imbecile of a brother who preferred to follow his emotions more than using his logic. Many times in the past, he had tried to convince the last king-our father-to abdicate in order to take the crown away from me…

Mathias was five years older than I, but he wasn't my blood-brother. His goal was to take the throne while I was still a child; however, he only wanted the position for the capabilities that were granted to it…I doubted that he cared for the people; he was avaricious and power-hungry.

"You don't have to give him _all_ of it; just enough for him to locate the Sothiya." She countered, refusing to back down from my glare. I watched the old woman carefully, searching her aged features for any sign of deceit or trickery. These past few days have been the most taxing on me, not only physically, but mentally. Many of the council members from "The Great Seven" have visited me, inquiring the same requests my consultant, Patricia, was currently asking. I knew some of them were displeased with my attitude, but what else was I supposed to do? My Sothiya should have been found many months ago! It wasn't my fault that Mathias and his men were having trouble locating her!

"_You know_ how Mathias can be… We already know she is located in the region of Hyrule; it is just a matter of time until she is found." I said, freezing in my tracks when I felt Patricia's hand on my sleeve.

"And _you know_ that we've already checked all over that nation…Dark, I have known you since the first day you were born, and I am aware of how stubborn of a child you can be. We have searched from the largest deserts to the tiniest towns to even the royal family! We have even checked women from the ages of ten to fifty, and we still don't know where she is at! Maybe if your father was still here-"

"_Don't_." I glowered at the woman, watching as her ruby eyes widened in fear for a slight moment before returning to its original glare. Slowly retracting her hand, the woman backed away from me slowly, my sovereignty filling the room along with an indignant atmosphere.

"Just reflect on my request…" The woman bowed slightly, and turned sharply on her heel, "I bid you farewell, Your Highness."

"Wait." My mind was torn into two pieces as I contemplated the possibilities of loaning my power to my brother. Mathias had proven in the past that he was untrustworthy, but loyal to his job… By allowing him to borrow my magic, I would be threatening my reign as king, and risk losing the faith my people held in me. However, our race didn't _have_ to know about this…and it wouldn't take my brother a long time to find my Sothiya…

I wished my father was here to help guide me. "What do you think _he_ would have done?" I asked.

I had heard the story many times before; how my father had taken my mother. The trackers had found her months before he became of age. She was an eighteen-year-old farm girl who lived with her mother, father, and three younger brothers. She went by the name of Lia… Out of curiosity, my father, King Ulric, left for the Factual World to view her for the first time. It may have been the natural attraction king's felt for their Sothiya, but he fell in love with her almost immediately. For the next few months, Ulric charmed his soon-to-be wife, and eventually broke the news to her about his position in the Dark World. He was worried she would be afraid of him, but instead she continued to love him for who he was. The day of his twenty-second birthday, he proposed to Lia; even asking for her family's permission to take her hand in marriage.

To sum it all up, I was born nine months after their binding; however, Lia, my mother, died two months after my birth due to complications…

I wanted to have something like that, but time was running short.

"Your father was undoubtedly one of the kindest men I knew. Honestly, I believe he would have done this many months ago, but everyone is different… You were named after our world because he believed you were destined to be one of the greatest kings, so I think you should live up to his credence and do whatever it takes to find your wife." She answered with certainty. She walked toward the exit of my throne room, signalling for the guards to open the doors. I stood with a blank expression on my face, running a hand through my silver hair as I climbed up the steps to my seat.

I collapsed with exaggeration, rubbing my hands over my eyes as I allowed my magic to falter and reveal my true form. Shadows were taught at a very young age to practice their magic by using disguising techniques. After so long, we learned to keep our disguises up at all times while using only little effort; however, showing your true-self in public was a sign of weakness.

Leaning down, I picked up my book to finish the ending, skimming through the final pages as my suspicions were confirmed; it turned out that the main character's friend killed his parents. My mind began to wander as I set the book in my lap, reading the words but not processing their meaning.

This book was written by a middle-class resident in Castle Town… I wondered if my Sothiya would be as dumb as this man. I wouldn't care if she was or not, but most women were brainless, and didn't understand how to make decisions for themselves. In a way, I hoped this girl would be easy… I wasn't new to the idea of seduction, for I had past experience with some of the women here in this world. All I had to do was whisper a few sweet words, and maybe flash a couple smiles.

I wasn't about to boast, but I was quite the good-looking man. Not only that, but I was an expert when it came to swordplay. I supposed my one weakness was the lack of skill I had when it came to magic…As a child, I was always the last one to learn a new "spell" in my group of friends; and even after I learned it, I still had trouble performing it.

Anyway, I hoped this challenge wouldn't be too difficult. I mean, how hard would it be to make this girl fall for me?

_BANG!_ Tilting my gaze up, I was startled to find one of my trackers stumbling past the guards stationed outside of the room. I stood from my chair, returning my human disguise as I studied the man before me. He was panting heavily, sounding as though he finished taking a jog in town.

"If you are here to request that I loan my powers to Mathias, you better leave now." I said, folding my arms across my chest as I frowned in annoyance.

"It's not that, sir… We have found her!"

I froze in my spot. If I had a heart, I was sure it would have beaten out of my chest by now.

"Well, where is she?" I asked eagerly, summoning my sword and shield as I turned to my servants. "Go get my travel attire." I commanded in a powerful tone.

"N-now wait just a moment-" The tracker stuttered out as I jogged down the carpeted steps, skipping one with each stride. All worries and concerns I had before vanished from my mind, leaving me in an excited mood as relief flooded through my body. "-heavily guarded…"

I paused. "What?"

"I said that the Sothiya's family is aware of us…we have just received word that her father is leader of the Hyrulian army, and he has put her under heavy guard."

"So what do you propose we do? Sit around and wait for my life force to slowly drain away while the girl hides?" I mocked. I may have been weak when it came to using magic, but I wasn't dumb. I was determined to take this woman; no matter what it took.

"Uh…in a way, yes?"

I laughed. "You all underestimate me greatly."

* * *

"Would you like anything, Miss Eliana?"

I shook my head, my gaze focused on the spider web in the corner of the room, attempting to distract myself from what was going on.

How was I supposed to react? I'd never been in a situation like this before. It all was disorienting; I tried not to worry about it too much, but the longer I sat here on this bed, the more perturbed I became.

Malia had yet to show up in the tiny guest room, leaving me, the soldier, and Opal alone together as near strangers. The possibility of Malia's death entered my mind many times as I fell deeper into my negative thoughts, flashes of everyone I knew lingering in my imagination.

_Perhaps we are having a drill…_ I thought to myself in a poor attempt for reassurance. Twice before in my lifetime, we practiced emergency drills for when Hyrule would be attacked by one of the three nations that surrounded it; however, I don't remember everyone looking as terrified...also, our old station was in the bomb shelter out by the garden, so why would we be placed in the basement?

I could only come up with two valid reasons as to why we were here: either the bomb shelter was unsafe, or we weren't under attack by another country…just something _else_.

The latter was more probable, but that didn't mean I was going to believe it. For the time being, I had decided to delude myself into thinking everything was fine…

I looked over to the blue-eyed soldier who was standing guard at the door, his arms folded across his chest as he leaned with one foot pressed against the wood. His chocolate-colored hair was covered with the formal, tall hat that most military men would wear, and the tassels connecting his white pants with his green coat were numbered to a surprisingly large amount. In my lessons over our army's rankings, I faintly remembered learning that the tassels on a man's coat transferred to the amount of battling experience he contained… By counting the number on this soldier's coat, he carried over five cords; the largest amount I had ever seen.

"What is your name?" I asked him, wanting to divert my attention away from the peril of our situation. The man turned his eyes toward me, looking me up and down as if he were judging my appearance.

"Simon Cain, son of George and Remilia." He said proudly, slightly puffing his chest out unconsciously. I nodded my head, remembering that the Cain family took care of our resources, and foreign trade with allied countries like Juro and Tessellate. Their colors were gold and black from what I could recall, and the shade of Simon's golden gloves gave it away. The Cain family was one rung above ours in the hierarchy of families, and just several places behind the Nohansens…

With that little exchange, we both returned to silence as we waited for Malia to arrive. Opal continued to read her book, Simon stood by the door, and I sat rigid on the edge of the guest bed.

We have been locked in here for two hours now, and I was already feeling anxious about what was happening outside. I wanted to go out, to see for myself what was going on, but I couldn't. If what the soldier said was true, it would be dangerous to leave the room…

_Knock. Knock._ Our gazes flew up to the door, Simon jumping in surprise at the sudden noise. A look of optimism was etched into my features when the knock repeated itself once again. After many years of being woken up to that same knock, I was sure it was Malia.

"Password?" Simon placed his gloved-hand on the hilt of his sword, lifting it upwards in preparation. I wanted to stop him; to reassure him that it was just Malia…but what if it wasn't?

"What do you mean 'password'? It's Malia, let me in." A familiar voice said. With bated breath, I watched as the soldier drew his sword, the foreboding sound of metal scratching against its sheath making me shiver.

"General Julliard said to not let anyone in unless if they knew the password."

"Well, he never gave me a password! Please, just open the door before we begin to draw unwanted attention." I stared at Simon, begging him with my eyes to let her in. He seemed to be having a battle with himself, his pale face twisting into different expressions while I listened to Malia continue her imploring.

Many moments later, I decided to take action, standing from my seat and walking over to the door. Before Simon could protest, I unlocked the door and turned the knob, allowing a wild-looking Malia to enter the room.

"Dear Farore…thank you, child." The old woman said, walking past me briskly to take a seat upon an upholstered chair in the corner of the room. With a quick peek out the door, Simon shut it tightly, and sheathed his sword. Shaking his head, he returned back to his position against the entryway.

I drifted toward the woman who I had known ever since I was a child, giving her a few moments to recollect herself. For all of my life, I had not _once_ seen Malia act this way, let alone look as unwashed and filthy as she did now.

"What is going on?" I asked, wanting to start out small before jumping into deeper questions. The maid's face wrinkled slightly, her tawny eyes dulling for a brief moment as she thought carefully about her answer.

"...Do you trust me?" Malia questioned, placing her hand upon my own. I crouched down to her level, confusion evident in my features when I felt her move her hands to my shoulders.

"With my life." I said.

"I need you to do something for me." The maid reached into her back pocket, and pulled out a thin, light blue scarf. Unraveling it slowly, she wrapped it over my shoulders, commanding me to tie it so that my mouth, nose, and neck would be covered.

"What is this for?"

"So _he_ can't smell you." Chills ran down my spine at her words. "In fifteen minutes, you will leave the manor. I want you to go to the library in Castle Town, and look up _Legends of the Past_ in the nonfiction center. And by all means… do not take off your scarf-."

"Woah, wait a second old lady," Simon stepped toward us in a discourteous manner. "I was given orders by General Julliard to not leave this room until he and his men can come and collect us."

Malia was shaking her head fiercely at his words, a frown visible on her face. "Mr. Julliard has changed his mind. It will be too obvious for him to find her if she is surrounded by guards."

Now I was definitely confused. "Who is _he_?"

"The Red-Eyed Beast…Din's King…or more commonly known as The King of Shadows." Malia's voice faltered as she spoke, but I was still bewildered with her explanation.

"'The King of Shadows?' I thought that was just an old folk tale… My grandmother used to tell me stories about the Dark World all the time, but afterward she would reassure me it was only a legend." The soldier was now standing by us, his hands on his hips as he spoke. I could understand the skeptical feelings he was experiencing at the moment. A legend turning out to be authentic? However, I trusted Malia…there was no reason for her to lie.

"What makes him so dangerous that we have to hide ourselves away?" I asked warily, genuinely upset for the way how my maidservant was reacting to all of this. Malia was a strong woman, and had been through many hardships in her life. Seeing her so…torn; it was unbelievable.

"He has the strength of three-hundred men, and he is rumored to have the nearly same amount of power as the dark one who tried to seal our fate hundreds of years ago…" Malia noticed the terrified look in my eyes, and continued on, "although he is powerful, he can be stopped. You just have to run away, and we will take care of the rest."

The woman placed her hand upon my cheek, repeating what she wanted me to do after I escaped from my home… It was quite sardonic, really. Home was supposed to be the one safe place you could return to if you were in trouble, yet it felt like the complete opposite in my case...

Simon and I would take a horse from the stable in Castle Town, but since we lived about a mile away from the area, and we didn't have horses here at the manor, we would have to walk/jog to town. Afterward, I was supposed to collect the book Malia wanted me to, and then we would escape to Kakariko in the East.

"I don't understand... Won't you be coming with us?" I asked.

"No, I must remain here for the time being… Give me your necklace." She said, holding out her hands in my direction. Reaching around, I unclasped the locket my father gave me on my eighth birthday, and handed it to my maid.

"What will you be needing it for?"

Malia smiled. "You've always liked asking lots of questions, huh? It will all be explained in the book."

I frowned at her. Suddenly, the room became cold as I watched Malia put my necklace in her pocket before standing from her seat. Stretching out my legs as well, I felt someone placing a lightweight jacket upon my shoulders; it was Opal.

"He is here." Was all she said, pushing me toward the door with Simon following close behind. My heart had frozen in its place when I was shoved out, prompted by the two women to run for the back door.

"Do not frown, child," Malia said from within the guest room, slowly closing the door as the realization that I wouldn't be seeing her again in a long time filled me, "it causes wrinkles."

Then she shut the door.

I could feel Simon wrap his arm around my waist, dragging me toward the exit that would lead back upstairs and to the outside world. I didn't want to leave… I wasn't ready to go off by myself! I had to have Malia with me, or then I wasn't sure what I was going to do!

"Wait!" I cried out, trying to tear myself out of the soldier's long arms, but he held me tightly, hissing at me to quiet down. Reluctantly, I allowed him to take me upstairs to the back door. I noticed how brightly lit the manor was, and how the sun seemed to shine prettily down through the one, stained glass window we had in my home, illuminating the hallway we were traveling in with bright colors. This setting wasn't befitting my mood at all; however, I noticed that the coldness I felt in the guest room had practically disappeared altogether…

Exiting the house without a problem, Simon and I ran down the hill to find a small group of armed guards marching to the manor. We dodged them, heading down the hot trail to Castle Town.

The bottoms of my feet were scorched from the steaming, dirt path we traveled on. I was hoping that I would be able to spot my father as we moved further and further away, but my hopes were slowly declining. After one minute of running, I had to stop due to my lack of exercise, making the person beside me groan in annoyance… Simon Cain was a rude man, but I was glad to have him with me. I didn't think I would be able to do this on my own…

After another minute of walking, I was shaken out of my thoughts by the most terrifying thing I had ever heard…

A laugh. Not a cheerful one, nor a sarcastic one.

A petrifying and maniacal laugh filled my ears.

I turned to my protector to see if he had heard it as well. He appeared to have not.

With that note, I took off to a jog, wanting to get as far away as possible from _him._

* * *

**A.N.: Whew! I had to end it there since my fingers feel like they're about to fall off from all that typing… Anyway, thank you for reading, and I can't wait to see you all next chapter! I would really appreciate it if you guys could leave a review… I sort of feel blind while I'm writing this because I have no idea if you all are enjoying this. I hope you all have a wonderful day! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N.: T.T You all are just too kind! Thank you to Marshi-a-Mallow and InterceptionSunset for leaving a nice review! You all should go check out InterceptionSunset's new story, "Tough Break"! It's looking pretty great so far! Anyway, I hope that you all will join me on this road of ups-and-downs because we have a looooong way to go. Please enjoy! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda**

* * *

"_...Hylians are vacuous creatures who carry no understanding of the world around them. Many times have our people witnessed the potential they contained when it came to tapping into their magical source… They have lost touch with their ancestors, and do not realize that each Hylian in the Factual World has their own level of ability in sorcery. Perhaps if they weren't as ignorant, they would learn to accept what was once a major custom celebrated by their predecessors; however, it has been nearly two-hundred years, and we have not seen a single Hylian attempt to use their magical powers. They are truly unintelligent beings…"_

_~An excerpt from "The Factual World: Hylians Revealed" by Joseph Harlequin, philosopher and theorist from the Dark World_

* * *

The soles of my feet were aching, and felt like they were burnt to a crisp. The thin fabric that separated my skin from the cobblestone provided no protection as I awkwardly limped forward with each step. People were giving us strange looks as we passed by; however, it wasn't because of how lost we appeared in the town square, but because of how we were dressed. Noble family members were an oddity on weekends in Castle Town, for we usually spend our time at home, recovering from the latest party we had the day before with the other rich families…

I could tell Simon was becoming frustrated with the pace we were moving at, and he wouldn't stop tapping his black boots against the ground impatiently while we stood beside the elaborate water fountain in the center of the square.

He may be used to this, but I was fascinated with all the people I saw that passed by us…mothers tugged their young children along through the streets, seeming fatigued as they peeled their kids' faces off the windows that displayed many sweet delicacies and treats; young love-struck teenagers held hands together, staring deeply into one another's eyes while moving at a slow pace; shop vendors were jumping forward to grab any unlucky bystander, shoving their products into the "customer's" arms before asking them how much they would pay for it.

It was an amazing, new experience, and all of it was intriguing…but I had to remind myself for the reason why I was here.

"Excuse me, ma'am? Would you happen to know where the library is at?" I questioned, my voice muffled from the thin scarf covering my mouth. The woman ignored me, pushing past the soldier and I with her hands full of eggs and glasses of milk. I saw Simon nearly lunge forward to follow the woman, but I held his sleeve, explaining to him that she was too busy.

He gave me an exasperated look. "Aren't we in a rush as well?"

Jumping from person to person, we were given looks ranging on a scale from pitiful to irate; no one bothering to tell us where the local library was located. After five minutes of running around, we stopped in a small alleyway in the South end of Castle Town. Turning toward me, Simon declared that he was going to collect a horse from the stables while I continued to look.

"You can't just leave me alone! What if that _thing_ shows up and tries to take me?" I asked with panic.

"By the time we _even find_ the bookshop, the monster is going to be here…it would be in our best interest to split up and quicken the process, or perhaps not if you rather die…" He scoffed, treating me like a dumb child. His blue eyes carried a hint of annoyance, making me wonder why he was even here helping me. Without a second glance, he left.

I stood rooted to my spot, my mouth agape as I stared after his large body. Taking a sharp turn to left, Simon disappeared from my sight.

Never have I ever felt as lonely as I did now.

No…

Never have I ever felt as lonely since my mother's death…the only difference was that I had Malia's solace.

I took one step back. Then another. Repeating the process until my back was pressed firmly against the stone wall behind me. My legs felt weak as I let myself collapse to the floor, throwing my arms up to shield my face from any wandering eyes. Tears collected at the corners of my vision as my chest began to heave, all the weight of the situation I was in crashing down on my shoulders…

I had to admit it; I had lived a sheltered life; unaware of the dangers outside of the walls of my home. At first, I didn't think it would be this hard, but my mind was shielded from the actualities of the_ real_ world by fancy dresses, handsome men, and schooling… I didn't know how to act in this new world full of sickness, drudgery, and labor. I felt like a cucco being thrusted in the coldest regions of Hyrule-incapable of adaptation, and unknowing of its new habitat.

For a few moments, I crouched with my arms wrapped around my knees, staring at my dirtied dress as I refused to let the tear drops fall. I wasn't _used_ to this setting… I wasn't _used_ to the large amount of people… I wasn't _used_ to not having my maid by my side at all times…and I definitely wasn't _used_ to being chased by a dangerous man/animal that probably wanted to kill me…

"Uh… Are you ok?"

I wiped my eyes with my palms, tilting my head up to find a child. The boy had sandy blond hair, and a pair of steel-blue orbs that shined brightly. His brown overalls were tattered from overuse, and he wore no shoes.

I stood and pushed myself off the wall, looking down at the child as he smiled brightly, revealing two missing front teeth.

"I am fine…just a little frustrated." I said, sniffing lightly as my thoughts traveled down a negative path.

"Whatcha fwuthtwated with?" I smiled at the boy's lisp, finding him cute when he noticed the giggles escaping from behind my scarf. "Are you laughin' at my lisp! Everyone laughth at me cauth of it…"

"I am a little. But if it means anything, I think your voice sounds cool." It felt weird using a slang word like "cool", but I wasn't lying when I spoke my words, watching the child's face as it burned a bright red from my compliment. Stuttering out a thank you, the boy grabbed my hand to tug me into the large crowd of people formed outside of the alley.

"Are ya lookin' for thomeone? I can help ya find 'em…then maybe we can hang out together!" He lifted a hand up to his forehead, acting as though he were searching for someone in the horde of individuals.

"Actually, I'm in a big hurry. Do you know where the library is?" I asked, holding my breath as I watched the boy lower his hand to his chin. He rubbed it thoughtfully as if he had a stubble before lifting a finger up to announce his sudden realization.

"Oh! The town hall bethide the casthle gateth hath a sthmall library… I think." He said, grabbing my wrist to guide me through the large throng of people. I didn't bother to ask him what he said; it was really loud, and his voice was difficult to understand, but as long as he took me where I needed to go, it wouldn't matter.

We slid in between men, women, and children; the boy dodging bodies with ease as I followed behind. I was glad to have him with me…not only was he knowledgeable of the area, but he also offered to help me find the book I was looking for.

Taking the main path through town, the amount of people seemed to decrease as we moved closer and closer to what I now figured out was the town hall. Although I had been to the castle several times before for Princess Zelda's birthdays and Wedding Anniversaries for the King and Queen, I had never been inside this building.

"Hey, What isth your name?" I looked down to the boy's blue eyes as we approached the building; only five to ten people standing around us in the area.

"Eliana Julliard, daughter of Mason and Elise." I said, walking up the long row of stone steps to the double doors that would lead to the library inside.

"You're a richy, huh? I figured by ya fancy clothesth, but now that ya thaid your name, I know for sure." We entered the building, finding no one present at the front desk. The wooden bureau was flanked by two doors, which upon further inspection, we saw many bookshelves lined up along the wall in the door to the left.

Entering the library, I headed straight to the nonfiction section. "Does it bother you?"

"Doesth what bother me?"

"Me being a… 'richy'."

"...Nah. My name isth Alan, and my grandma thays it meansth 'noble', so I can't judge ya; it goesth againsth the name…Oh, and ya wanna know what sthe also thaid? Alans are handsthome when- ."

I searched diligently through the rows of books, tuning the silly child out as he chatted on and on about his name. He then moved into the topic of his family, babbling on about his baby sister and grandmother. Halfway through his one-sided conversation, I asked him about his parents, curious as to why he didn't talk about them. At first he didn't answer me, becoming silent as he carelessly flipped through a picture book; but then he answered with less enthusiasm than before. His parents died in a bokoblin raid one month after his sister's birth…

"I wasth really little when it happened, but when I found my daddy'sth body, I knew that I had a duty," My heart clenched as he said those words, my mind racing to think about my father, "and it wasth up to me to take care of my sisther."

"That is very brave of you, Alan." Was all I said, my thoughts training on my mother. In a way, I was disappointed in myself. I thought I had it hard; actually, worse than everyone else in the world…but being the selfish child I was, I never thought of the poor living out in the country. It was awe-inspiring to see a boy as young as him working so hard for his family…

Shaking myself out my thoughts, I was glad to find that the books were sorted in alphabetical order, making things easier on my part. There were a surprisingly large amount of books that began with the word "Legend", but I eventually found what I needed. It was a small, leatherback publication-maybe one-hundred words long-titled _Legends of the Past: the Shadow People_. The book was so old that I was afraid it would crumble in my hands if I squeezed it. Double-checking through the other books to make sure I had the right title, I informed my helper of our success, listening to him cheer as he placed a children's book upon the shelf.

Jogging over to the exit, my emotions started to get the better of me as I smiled happily; I was ready to go to Kakariko…nothing could stop Simon and I now!

But the boy halted me, "Hey! Aren't ya going to check it out? You can't justh…take it."

For a moment, I thought about turning around to do as the boy said…but then the familiar feeling of coolness rushed through my body. The same coolness I felt when Malia and Opal rushed me out of the guest room.

"We have to go!" I yelled, ushering the boy forward so we could get out as soon as possible. As afraid as I was of getting caught, one thought seemed to stick out above all the others… If _he_ was here… then what remained of my family? If this man is as dangerous as he was made out to be, then surely something bad must had happened while I was away.

My helper shouted several complaints, tugging himself violently out of my grip just before we exited the main room. My mind kicked into overdrive as I practically_ begged_ him to leave, for I was worried about his safety; but he refused to listen.

"I promise to explain everything later, and I will return the book when I'm done with it. A man with great power is coming for me, and it is imperative that you leave now." I said, my words jumbling out of my mouth as I thrusted the door open, planning on taking the boy just outside of Castle Town so he would be out of harm's way. I wondered where his family was, and if they would be safe as well…

Shrieks echoed down the lane just outside of the square, forcing me to pump my legs faster. I took note of how high the sun sat in the sky, my heart pounding fiercely as I thought about how heavily populated Castle Town was. It was probably past midday, which meant many people would be outdoors, and shopping…

"Follow me!" Alan grabbed my hand, helping me move through the giant crowd as everyone took notice of something-or more like someone-on the West side of the large area, which was where Simon and I came from about one hour ago. The shouts began to maximize in volume, leading everyone into a frenzy as people pushed and shoved to get by one another. I could feel my grasp slipping as a large woman knocked me onto the ground, separating myself from Alan.

My elbows scraped across the cobblestone as I tried to catch myself. People rushed by, not taking notice of my fallen form as they tripped over my body before moving on. I was kicked in the stomach once as I attempted to stand from my fallen position, and a knee was rammed into my temple, causing me to collapse once again. My vision was becoming blurry, and I felt like I had to vomit…but I couldn't stay like this.

A pair of arms wrapped themselves under my armpits, lifting me onto my feet before setting me down. I frantically held my scarf against my mouth, afraid of what would happen if it fell off.

But it was too late. Something was tugging fiercely at it, forcing me to let it go.

Glancing around, I saw an old man staring at me before jogging away…he must had been the one to help me up; however, looking closer I saw him carrying a thin, blue fabric in his hands.

Why?

Why would someone use a time like this to take advantage of the weak?

I was pushed and shoved in my spot, but I didn't move my legs. Slowly turning around, I looked at the far side of the square, my eyes immediately spotting a pair of _red ones_ looking straight back at me.

My breath hitched in my throat as I became captivated in the scarlet pools that seemed to hold many secrets within them. Blood was smeared onto his clothing, and his sword was drenched in the same substance. I wanted to run, but I couldn't… It was like something was _pulling_ me toward them. The man I was staring at was unlike any I had ever seen; he was a monster; no, a _demon_ with skin the color of coal, and eyes the same shade of blood.

A wide smirk spread across his face when he spotted me, slowly stalking toward me with the strangest glint in his eyes…

"Eliana!" Alan called out to me, but I couldn't run.

_Why can't I move!_

"Eliana! What are ya doin'?" I could feel him pulling on my arm, forcing me to move my legs as I kept eye contact with the beast. I felt a small hand press against my cheek, coercing me to look away.

And I did.

"Alan?" I felt like I had just woken up from a nightmare, the crimson orbs still floating in the back of my mind. Shaking my head, the boy led me out of the square, both of us running as fast as we could to the exit. I directed Alan to head to the horse stables, so we could find Simon, and get out of here.

The sun was beating harshly down upon us, and my lungs were on fire due to the lack stamina I had. The streets now seemed empty of any living soul as people hid away in their homes, refusing to let any stragglers find refuge with them. I thought about jumping into one of the shops, but my efforts would be in vain. _He_ already knew what I looked like, and I no longer carried the scarf Malia gave to me…

Both of us continued to run, finding the stables just up ahead along with the bridge that would lead to Hyrule Field. Turning to look at Alan, I was surprised to find that he wasn't there as fear coursed through my veins…I slowed down to a jog, pivoting on my heel when I came face to face with _him_. He was a mere ten feet away from me…

It wasn't just him though.

He was holding onto a screaming boy wearing a pair of brown overalls torn on the pant legs. A sword was pressed against the boy's jugular before being pulled sharply to the side. Blood spurted from the wound, the boy's steel-blue eyes dulling as he was dropped to the ground; gurgling coming from his mouth before silence. I attempted to scream, but nothing came out as I watched my little helper's body become smothered in his own blood.

I felt like someone just drove a dagger into my heart, and twisted it back and forth as I watched with wide eyes. The tall demon came forward to me, stepping over the child as if he were just some dead animal. I knew my time had come…I had failed not only myself, but Malia, my father, Simon… and Alan.

I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling tears run down my face as I waited for the monster to sever my head from my body; however, it never came.

A hand was rested upon my cheek, brushing the tears away as I slowly opened my eyes. The same red pools stared down at me with such intensity that it was difficult to turn away. Why wasn't he killing me? I wanted to scream at him, and tell him to just do it already…but then he spoke.

"Don't cry, my queen…" His deep voice rang through my ears. I was so confused… I watched as his gray skin changed to a tan color, surprise evident in my features as I looked on with horror. He actually looked...human.

"..." My mouth opened as if to say something, but I didn't want to talk. He seemed somewhat amused with my reaction, which filled me with anger as my hate began to overpower my fear.

"I'm glad that I was blessed with a beautiful Sothiya…" He murmured, leaning down to my face. Something snapped within me when I realized what he was about to do. Reaching up, I smacked the back of the old book onto his cheek, a satisfying noise resounding while a took a couple of steps back. Holding my hand close to my chest, I massaged my aching wrist, tucking the still-intact, old book under my arm.

My anger resided and was once again replaced with horror when the man before me stood up straight, his back rigid as cracked his neck. He appeared calm, but his eyes told a different story when he spoke in a livid tone:

"I was hoping you would make this easy on yourself, Sothiya, but I guess we are going to have to do it the hard way."

"We're not doing this any way!" I saw Simon from the corner of my eye, relief filling me when he stood in front of me with his sword drawn. I turned around to find a horse the color of midnight standing by the stables, idly looking on with boredom.

"No matter where you run, I _will_ find you…" I could hear the beast say as he read my mind, but I was too busy focused on getting out of there to pay attention. I ran over to the horse, hitching up my skirt as I climbed on top before calling Simon to follow as well.

"Simon, we must go!" I shouted, but he didn't budge from his spot. I watched him toss his hat to the side before lunging forward at the evil man, metal clashing against metal. The two glided around one another, but Simon refused to turn his back on the demon. He always made sure his body separated mine from the monster's, doing whatever it took to protect me from him.

"Go! Don't worry about me!" He shouted without looking away from his opponent.

But I couldn't leave him. "But-!"

"By Goddesses, leave us, you fool!"

My heart pounded against my chest, mixed emotions filling me as I looked on at the two.

"GO, Eliana!" That was the first time he had ever said my name.

I kicked the horse's sides, holding on tightly as I rode on its bareback. I had not been on a horse ever since my mother's death; my father sold our horses because they were just a sad reminder of his deceased wife. I didn't look back as I rode over the bridge that would lead to Hyrule Field, crying out when I dodged several wandering bokoblins on my way to Kakariko. I nearly dropped the old publication many times as I held onto the horse, prompting it to slow down as we moved across the large field.

It felt strange to ride a horse without a saddle, and my arms were tired from holding on for dear life. After what felt like hours of riding, I eventually made it Kakariko, thanking the horse for saving my life in my desperate time of need. I wondered if Simon was still alive, but I pushed the thought away, deciding that I had suffered through enough today.

Patting the horse lightly, I told him he could leave whenever he wanted, and left him at the entrance to the town while I made my way through the barren town. Night was approaching, so most were inside preparing for dinner, and spending time with their loved ones…

I brushed off the weird looks I was given while I passed by several men. My hair must had been a wild mess, and my clothes were dirtied and torn from the bokoblins that scratched at my legs when I rode by in Hyrule Field. My gaze fell upon a large, wooden building with a sign that said, "INN". I attempted a smile, but my lips refused to move.

Entering the building, I was met with the smell of pansies and lilies, delicately brushing against my nose with their happy scents. A young lady sat at the front of the room, playing with her nails until she noticed me approaching. Her nose wrinkled slightly before she grinned brightly, acting as though she actually cared about me.

"Please, do you have any rooms?" I asked, my heart praying for her to say yes.

"Uh, yes, we have several! Twenty-five rupees for a single bed." She said. My eyes widened in realization when I noticed I didn't have any money. I didn't have time to grab my purse when I was running out of my home…

"I-uh-don't have any…" I admitted, begging the young woman with my eyes to let me stay, but she shook her head. Saying they had a strict policy, the woman apologized before asking me to leave the lobby, telling me that she wished I could stay, but she would lose her job if her boss found out.

I wobbled out of the inn, rubbing my eyes as I stared at the setting sun. Tears poured down my face while I walked over to a hill, climbing up the steep incline with exhaustion. I collapsed beside a hot spring, and began to cry as I curled up into a ball… I wasn't crying for myself, and the predicament I was in; I was crying for Alan and Simon and Malia.

_It's all my fault._ I cried for Alan's baby sister, and how she would grow up knowing that her family was murdered by monsters. I cried for Alan because he would never get to watch his sister flourish into a beautiful, young lady, and be there for her first heartbreak, and kiss her cheek after he would give her away to a decent man, and play with his nieces and nephews in the hot sun happily…

So many people died because of me. There was no doubt that monster slaughtered the guards at the manor. The way how he brutally murdered a child right before my eyes… it was sickening.

And then he had the audacity to call me such degrading and teasing names! Sothiya? What does that mean?

Running my fingers over the leather book that I was still carrying in my hand, I flipped open to the first page, diving deep into the book as I learned about who this "King of Shadows" was…

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**A.N. I feel like a bad person… This is just the beginning of the story, where the real meat and potatoes will be here later on after our lovely Dark Link takes Eliana away. I added the "Alan's death" in to help the readers realize exactly how important the Sothiya is to the King of Shadows. The king will do _anything_ for his people, so he go through the extreme if that is what it takes to get hold of his Sothiya. Also, if Shadows are made up of the negative thoughts of people, then of course Dark isn't going to be the nicest guy around. I promise you more romance later on, but first we have to get through all of this stuff! I love you all for reading my story, and please leave me a review on how you think it was! I hope you all have a wonderful day! :D  
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	4. Chapter 4

**A.N.: Yay! Another chapter! So I've been listening to "Prince Ralis is Saved", and I'm telling you…it really gets your mind moving! I wrote this chapter in three hours, which is a new record for me, so I hope you all enjoy! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda**

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"_The meeting between the King of Shadows and his Sothiya is a rare sight to see. Witnesses' accounts are all explained as the same, where their friend/sister/daughter has fallen under a trance like state, and it becomes nearly impossible to grab her attention. It is believed that this occurs because of the natural attraction Sothiyas have for their mate and vice versa. There is not enough information to prove this, but it is believed that this only happens once, for after the first time it transpires, the two learn how to deal with what is known as "The Pull" unconsciously._

"_The Pull" is the desirability between Sothiyas and their kings; the allure has nothing to do with external beauty, but with something deep down, something absolute. Just as some people have a secret passion for rainstorms, earthquakes, or blackouts, the two mates hold a certain, undefinable something directed to one another. They are two equals being connected as one…"_

_~An excerpt from Chapter 5 of "Legends of the Past: the Shadow People" by Leonardo the Wise, Hylian Mage of the Eldin Province_

* * *

I knew she was here.

Searching the large crowd, I saw many different faces of women and children, but none of them matched the description I was given by my trackers. There were several moments where I thought I saw her, but the _feeling_ wasn't there. The girls I had spotted were either too young or too old; too large or too little; just _too_ not her….

I plunged my sword deep into the chest of a guard who thought he could sneak up behind me, watching his eyes widen with surprise when I drove my boot deep into his stomach to pull his limp body off my blade. His blood splattered over my dark clothes, my mind lurching at the excitement of it all.

Not even one hour ago, I took on a large army of Hylian men, and came out with only minor scratches and bruises. My clothes were drenched in their gore, and the smell drove me over the edge with eagerness for more…it had been such a long time since my last battle; and after so many years of sparring and practicing my magic, it felt amazing to test my skills upon those men.

People were now beginning to take notice of me, shouting evil names like "Demon!" and "Monster!". I didn't mind them though, for I was here on a mission; to collect what was rightfully mine. The crowd of people moved in a strange pattern as the organization they had all grown accustomed to was tossed to the side. Two middle-aged men approached me with pitch forks, charging at me as I ducked out of their way. I could feel my hat get caught in one of the men's weapons, being torn as I moved quickly behind them. I drove my blade deep into the man's spine, enjoying the look of fear that crossed his friend's face as his companion's blood spurted onto him. I turned to the second man after I discarded the body of his friend, watching him turn sharply on his heels before running off into the horde of people, pushing several children forcefully to the ground as he screamed curse words to the world.

I returned to my search, walking forward into the crowd as they all scattered in different directions. It was like I had a force field placed around my body while people refused to step in range of my sword, some were even jumping into the fountain in the middle of the town square to avoid me.

I saw an old woman standing several feet to my left, tossing what smelled like lemon juice onto my clothes as she muttered a foreign language. I watched her for a moment, intrigued with her words when I heard "King of Shadows" leave her lips. I guess not all people from Hyrule were idiotic…she knew what my purpose here was.

Turning away from the woman, I could feel something spreading through my body as a smell seemed to erupt out of no where. I automatically moved my gaze to the Southeastern end of the town square, watching a woman have a tug-of-war with an elder man. They were fighting over a blue scarf that was covering her mouth…

Her pale green dress was covered in dirt and tattered, and her dark brown hair seemed to shine in the sunlight as it fell nicely down her back in waves. My body tensed when the man tore the scarf off her face, and the strangest feeling pooled throughout me.

I remembered asking my father what it was like the first time he met my mother. The way how he described it at the time was so confusing, but now I understood… Everything seemed to move in slow motion when her blue eyes met mine, my body shuddering at the thought of ravishing her.

This "pull" I felt toward her wasn't love, but something entirely different yet the same. My feet began to move through the crowd, which was beginning to dissipate as the people found refuge within the buildings nearby. The Sothiya stood still in her spot, her lips forming a perfect "o" and her eyes widening at the sight of me. She was entranced with my form, unmoving as I could feel my mouth curve into a smirk. This was all too easy…

But of course, I knew better to believe it would be trouble-free.

A young child, around the age of eight, grabbed ahold of the Sothiya, tugging on her roughly as the two of them moved to the Eastern exit. For several more seconds, we held eye contact until she was forced to look away by the child. A certain amount of anger filled me as she ran, but I brushed it off, knowing that it would be easy to dispose of the boy who was taking her away from me.

I morphed with the shadows, using my magic as an easy form of transportation. I followed the two just before the gate that would lead to a large field outside of the town; my energy levels felt oddly low as I took a solid form once more; normally I would be able to travel in my shadow form for miles, but I could only move two-hundred yards… It was just a reminder that I couldn't wait any longer to take her.

I quickly snatched the boy from his spot beside the Sothiya, placing my sword upon his throat without a second thought. I ended his life swiftly, letting his body fall to the ground as another one of my victims. I refused to waste anymore time…my race depended on me and this girl.

No man, woman, or even child shall get in my way.

Stepping over the kid, I watched the girl shut her eyes tightly in preparation for something, letting tears slide down her face. Why was she crying? Was the child a family member? He held no resemblance to the Sothiya and wore clothes that were of the poor, so I was sure he had no relation with the girl. I lifted my hand and gently wiped the tears away, feeling strange for this was the first time I had ever touched a Hylian without causing harm.

I told her to stop crying, and she opened her eyes, looking on at me with disbelief as I let my magic transform me back into my human form. I noticed that her blue eyes had a tint of green within them, giving them this ocean effect. I complimented her on her beauty, using the tricks I had learned from past experience with the female Shadows in my world. Women liked to be told they're attractive, and for a moment, I believed my advances were working. I leaned down to kiss the woman upon the forehead, which would give her the marking that would allow me to take her back to the Dark World…but then she smacked me upon the face with a book I had failed to notice before.

What an arm she had… It wasn't painful, but there was enough force to pop my neck out-of-place. If this were anyone else, I would have dug my sword deep into their throat before asking them to apologize…

But this was _her_.

I angrily warned her, but then a warrior, who seemed several years older than I, approached from behind the girl, pointing his sword in my direction as my frown deepened. The girl took off running as soon as we were divided by this man, hopping onto a horse before calling his name. "Simon" held eye contact with me, refusing to look back at the Sothiya as she begged for him to run with her. He lunged forward at me…What a valiant move…

I felt jealous by the emotion she put into her words, and how informally she spoke with this man; but I supposed I could take care of him easily. I wouldn't be able to chase after the girl; I was still tired from the amount of magic I had to use for my transportation technique. So while I rested my body, I had decided to take on this man, hoping that he would be more of a challenge than the last group I had battled.

I watched with frustration as the girl rode away on the horse ungracefully, hugging its body while I took note of the direction she was traveling in. I glanced back at the man in front of me, calculating his movements with my eyes. This man was two to three inches taller than I, so I expected his blows to be strong; however, his height will play against him, for I would be quicker with my attacks.

"GO, Eliana!"

So her name was Eliana? How…enriching…

"I am the greatest knight, and the most skilled warrior in Hyrule… I will allow you a moment to surrender yourself to the Hyrulian guard. If you refuse, I will not hesitate to kill you." The man threatened with all seriousness, glaring at me with hateful eyes. A laugh bubbled in my throat as I allowed it to escape, watching as this man's glare faltered slightly before returning. "Do you not believe me?"

How amusing. He had convinced himself that he actually had a chance to defeat me.

"Only the one who carries the Blade of Evil's Bane can destroy me…and he has been dead for over two-hundred years!" The man jumped forward, his attacks filled with rage as I easily dodged and blocked them. Holding my sword horizontally in front of my face, I parried his blows with a counterattack, slicing his left arm open due to his lack of a shield.

"You bastard…" The man hissed, not allowing himself to let up on his attacks. He was just like Mathias…letting his emotions get in the way of things. How was I suppose to believe that this was the greatest warrior in Hyrule, when he couldn't even control his sentiments?

I jumped forward, deciding to go on the offensive…I had already wasted enough time, and the longer this went on, the further away the Sothiya, Eliana, would be.

This man held up quite well considering he had no shield, and he had lasted longer than all the other men I had faced. At one point, he was able to shove me into a stone wall, punching me in the gut with his left fist before nearly separating my sword from my hand. It was quite admirable, but not enough to win. I bumped into him with my shield, knocking him off-balance before swinging my sword to his hand, forcing him to let go of his weapon before he fell to the ground. Lifting his chin, I aimed my sword at his throat, the tip digging into his skin. My grin widened at the sight of his helpless form, urging me to end his life then and there…

"You are just as weak as that old maidservant…however, she was more of a challenge honestly." I teased.

He furrowed his brows. "Did you kill her?"

"...In all of my life, I have never let someone go out of pity…but I suppose exceptions can be made."

* * *

I awoke with a jerk. My mind was racing as my nightmares receded to the back of mind, leaving me to my guilty thoughts and woes. I half-expected to awaken in my room, where my everyday routine would begin with Malia knocking on my door, but I knew better than that.

The sky was black, telling me that it was several hours before daybreak. All lights down below in the village were out except for small candles lit up in several of the windows. I could see no one outside, however I thought I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Figuring it was just an animal, I walked down the incline to the main part of the village. My stomach was making a strange gurgling sound…was this what it felt like to be hungry? My last meal was yesterday with Helena… I wondered if she was ok…

My thoughts were interrupted by a strange noise coming from behind one of the buildings… I became paranoid when the noise suddenly stopped as I looked over to where I thought the source was at. Quickening my pace, I sped-walked to the nearest house, knocking on the door softly. I waited for a few moments before trying again, hitting the door harder so the owners could hear me. "Go away!" resounded through the open window, so I left the house to try next door.

I walked up the steps to the what appeared to be a store, and gazed through an opening. My stomach continued to growl when I saw several produce items sitting in the corner. I walked over to the door, pounding on it loudly in hopes that the shop owner would hear me. There was no voice or noise, just silence and my hungry stomach. I let out a deep sigh, my mind filled with thoughts of what had happened the other day. My life was falling apar-...

Bending down to grab a rock I had just kicked, I forgot about my misery for a moment, and tossed the palm-sized mineral between my hands. For a brief second, I considered throwing the rock at the window of the store…just so I could grab a block of cheese and be on my way. I would be gone, and leave the town; however, I didn't know where I would go…

The plan was to escape to Kakariko, and that was it. The guards were supposed to have taken care of the monster while I ran away to hide…

I dropped the rock on the ground, shaking my head as I brushed away my evil thoughts. Just listening to myself was sickening…how could I even _think_ about vandalism?! It wasn't like I was starving to death…

I stepped off the store's porch, walking to the side of the building before hunkering down to wrap my arms around my knees while I leaned against the wood. I needed to take a few moments to think...

There were so many things going through my mind, and it all was disorienting. The book I had brought with me was discarded after I had finished reading it. The words jumbled in my mind while only a few stuck out more than the others; words like _Sothiya_, and _mate_… Most of the first chapters were about the origins of the Shadow people and what was believed about them, but further on, I found plenty of sections that talked about "the Sothiya."

That man…the King of Shadows…called me a Sothiya...

So, does that mean he is here to take me? Not kill me?

I wasn't too sure, because at the end of the book, I found a small section written by the author about how his findings were possibly untrue. He had never been to the Dark World, and he had based his writings from records found in the past. The only information that was a primary source was the story he told about watching his sister disappear right before his eyes… She was out with a young man in his early twenties who had the oddest of all eye colors her brother had ever seen, and they were standing together in the soybean field just beside her home. Moments after her brother (the writer) had called her name, the two of them vanished together, and they were never seen again.

_Is that what will happen to me? I'll just disappear from the face of our world, and never see my family again?_

I squeezed my legs tightly, pulling them in as I buried my face into my knees. I was so scared and sad and angry and tired…I felt guilty for Alan's death and the many others before him. I hadn't seen Simon since yesterday, and the more time that passed on, the more worried I became. I also hadn't seen the Shadow yet, so perhaps he was defeated?

I needed to come to terms with myself… What would happen if the King of Shadows comes for me once again? Would there be more bloodshed? I didn't want anyone else to be slaughtering by that man, but what would happen to me? Even though I had read that book Malia asked me to, I was left with more questions than answers about my predicament...

I supposed the real question was what would _I_ do when I saw the demon once again? Would I run away, which would most likely lead to more death? Or would I give myself up and destroy my life for the sake of others?

The answer was quite obvious.

Standing from my crouched position, I thought about my mother, and if she would approve of my choice. Most likely, she would tell me that she was proud of me no matter what… I remembered the first time I had ridden a horse by myself…I remembered the first song I had learned on our piano at home…I even remembered the first lesson I had in dance class… Every step of the way, she was there by my side, cheering me on and pleased with whatever decisions I had made, so I was sure that she was beside me at this moment, smiling the same, special smile that she would always save for me in my hardest of times. What I would give to hear her voice once more, and to listen to her laugh, and to watch her smile… I missed her so much.

I walked toward the entrance to the village, my head low as I began to accept my fate. I couldn't cry, for I had already shed too many tears…yet I still felt something wet fall down my face; I decided to pretend that it was raining.

I took off my worn flats, holding them in my hands as I let the dirt fall in between my toes. I tossed them to the side, deciding that they were no longer useful and too ragged from the amount of running I had done in them. Malia would have yelled at by now to put them back on, but she wasn't here…

I breathed in the smell of the world, wondering if it would be my last time to ever do so. Running my fingers through my hair, I brushed out the tangles that had formed over time before ripping a piece of cloth off of my dress. I began the meticulous process of braiding my hair, tying the end with the green material as I walked toward the opening that would lead to Hyrule Field. The castle came into my view as I moved further down the path, and so did the horse I had used from the other day. I was astonished to see that he had stayed although I had urged him to run free; however, I was glad he was here for two reasons: I needed someone to talk to and there were an increasingly large amount of bublins and bokoblins in the area, so the possibility of him getting caught and abused was quite high...

I ran my fingers through the horse's mane, listening to its breathing as it ate the grass below its hooves. This horse seemed small compared to the other mounts I had seen, and he was the first to eat grass; most horses we owned lived off of carrots and salt licks, but never have I seen them try to eat grass.

"I'm starting to want my old life back." I said out loud to horse, wishing that he could reply. I had wanted something different, but I never asked for this! As boring as my old life was, this new one was three times as worse, and I had only started living it one day ago.

I leaned my head against the horse's body, asking him silly questions to humor myself as I waited for many minutes… I was trying to distract myself from the cruel reality of my life; that I was going to be taken away by some murderer, and basically force myself to give him my virginity for the sake of a race that killed Hylians for the fun of it.

In a way, the humorous jokes I made were working, but every raindrop that fell down my face reminded me that it all wasn't a dream…but a nightmare.

After two hours of waiting, I saw that the sun was beginning to rise from the horizon. I could hear life beginning to stir behind me in the village as people resumed their everyday lives.

"Do you think I could eat the grass?" I asked my companion with an emotionless voice. Of course I was joking, but I was starting to wish that Helena would come out of no where with a plate of cinnamon rolls for me to eat. Just thinking about the sugary icing was making my mouth water…

I looked off into the distance at a dark form that was traveling in my direction. I couldn't tell who it was, but I prayed to the Goddesses that it was Simon. The figure was tall, and dressed in dark clothing…he carried a sword and a shield, and wore a Phrygian cap, not the formal, tall hat that Hyrulian knights wore…

It was him, the King of Shadows, coming to collect his prize after so many battles. I could tell the man seemed exhausted by the way he walked, but when he spotted me, his steps were carried in a different way...

Now that I had the chance, I studied his features carefully with my eyes, looking for any sort of threatening move on his part. His silver hair was long, and his bangs fell just above his scarlet red eyes. His skin was no longer the black color I had seen the first time, but a sun-kissed tan that suited him well…I had to admit that he was no slob and quite handsome, but I also had to remind myself of the crimes he had committed; what he had done to all those people.

"What are you planning, Sothiya?" He asked in his deep voice, standing a few meters away from my form. I took note of how tall and lean he was; the top of my head coming up to his neck. He was very intimidating…

"M-my name is Eliana." I stuttered out, mentally smacking myself in the forehead at how weak I sounded.

"Do you wish to come with me, Eliana?" He basically read my mind, a smirk crossing his face to reveal a pair of fangs that I hadn't noticed before.

"..." I stood silent for a moment, listening to the horse at my side breath heavily as he looked off into the distance, uninterested in our conversation. "No, I do not want to go…but by how inevitable this is I cannot continue to put it off."

The man's smirk widened into a grin as he complimented my choice, telling me that I would make a wonderful and obedient queen for his people. I frowned deeply at his words, watching him with bated breath as he closed the distance between us.

"Do not be afraid, I promise to not hurt you…I just have one thing I need to do before we leave." Leaning down, the man placed his lips onto my forehead, leaving me in shock as he held it for several seconds before pulling away.

"What was that for?" I asked, scared out of my mind by the strange burning sensation that I felt on my noggin.

"I have left my mark. Although invisible to the eye, it will ward away any Shadows who try to attack you. It proves that you are mine and only mine, and will also allow you to travel to my world." I closed my eyes at his words, feeling him grab my hand as he took no extra time to ask me if I wanted to do anything before we left. The raindrops began to fall harder as he attempted to intertwine our fingers, but I wouldn't allow him.

The last thoughts I had before we teleported to the other world were of the strange noises and movement I had heard and seen in Kakariko…if it wasn't who I thought it was, then what was it?

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**A.N.: I would like to point out that it wasn't actually raining, but Eliana just wanted to pretend that her tears were just raindrops so she wouldn't have to suffer through the reminder that her life was destroyed. :3 Anyway, I see those view numbers… :D I know you all are there! I promise that I won't bite, so please write me a little something on your way out the door! Have a wonderful day!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A.N.: I don't really have anything to say…This chapter is the beginning of the main plot, so I'm super excited! I don't know about you guys, but I can't wait! This is the longest chapter I have written so far, so I hope you all will enjoy it!**

**MyLovelyInsanity: T.T Thank you very much! Your words mean so much to me! I love your name by the way. :3 It's super cool!**

**Marshi-a-Mellow: Thank you so much for reviewing! I thought everyone just gave up on me, so I believed that it was time to put the pencil down…but you have helped me realized that I'm still a new writer, and just one out of thousands of others! I'm glad that you are enjoying this story so far, and by the way, I love 'Sous le Ciel de Paris'! Out of the select few songs (that are a foreign language) I like, it's my favorite. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda.**

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"_...We have found no evidence pertaining to the Dark World. The mysterious magic that was rumored by the Hylians has been proven false by our women. We will continue to search, and we do understand how imperative this is for your plan, but in order for us to widen our sights, we would have to send warriors into Castle Town. I hope you know what you are doing…"_

_~A letter to Lord Ganondorf from a relative dated ten years before his attack on Hyrule_

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As soon as he told me to open my eyes I let go of his hand, unwilling to touch him for any longer than I had to. A weird sensation moved throughout my body as if my soul was reconnecting itself. My throat became dry and everything was spinning around as I attempted to steady myself. We were no longer standing in front of Kakariko, but in what looked like a massive garden. I questioned him where we were at, for the colors of the trees and flowers I saw were still the same… Were we in the Factual World?

"Home." He answered, gesturing for me to grab his hand, but I refused.

I expected everything to look different from my world…more "dark", really; but I was surprised to find that the grass was still green; the sun, yellow. The only main difference was that instead of the sky being a pretty, light blue, it was a pale red-almost pink-color that was covered with clouds.

I asked him if the sky was always like this, but he only answered by saying: "It rains quite often."

I don't think he understood what I was asking…

He didn't seem to mind my coldness to him, and let me walk on my own, but I could tell he was annoyed with my attempts to prove him wrong about my submissiveness. Did he sincerely believe I would just fall into his arms, asking him to take me without a thought? There was a word for what he believed I was…I couldn't remember the formal term for it, but the slang word was the clearest in my mind…

Easy.

I knew he couldn't hurt me, so I needed to not fear for my life because I planned on acting as unfriendly and distant as I could…

I followed behind him, my head hung low as I stared at the intricate patterns carved into the marble flooring we walked upon…Everything here reminded me of home, but I could tell we were in a castle of some sort. The colors of the walls were a dark gray and black, making me raise my eyebrows at the banality of it all. A large banner the colors of red and white hung high in the center of a massive wall; now that I looked around some more, smaller versions of the banner were strung everywhere in the appropriate places.

We appeared to be at the head of the garden, preparing to enter through a set of massive double doors. As the doors opened, I turned to look at the trees and flowers, intrigued with their shapes and designs. I took the moment to myself, sniffing the odd and peculiar smells of what would be my new home…however, it was only temporary. I planned on making an escape in the future, but first I needed to discover a way on how to travel back to where_ I_ belonged without_ his_ help…

"Sothiya?" I faced forward once more at one of the men who were holding the door open for me. I quietly thanked them, walking through the entryway before following after the King of Shadows. The way how he moved through-what I believed was-the empty ballroom showed me just how much power he held over his people. He wasn't afraid to show his authority…servants who passed by us bowed in our direction, their eyes widening at the sight of me before they rushed off. The man in front of me didn't nod his head nor did he greet them, he looked straight ahead with hard eyes, approaching a small wooden door at the side of the room.

I continued to follow after him, having to walk quickly in order to keep up with his long stride. My eyes searched the giant ballroom, which was smaller than the one at Hyrule Castle, but brighter due to the chandeliers illuminating the room from high above. The same marble pattern that we stood on outside was in here as well, but a deep red instead of a sapphire blue.

"..!" I muffled my shout after I crashed my forehead into his shoulder-blade. He glanced back at me, finding my display amusing before entering through the wooden door. The room we were in was very tiny, and the only exit was the door we came through. A fancy dresser along with a mirror sat against the far wall, and an elegant, yet ancient, white dress was placed on a large mannequin to our left. The man in front of me turned sharply to face me, my nose wrinkling in disgust at the smell of his clothes…

"My servants will enter as soon as I leave the room to dress you. The ceremony will begin when you are-"

"Ceremony?" I rose my eyebrows, feeling my jaw slacken as he nodded his head. I could see a faint smile on his lips, but his eyes told a different story…he seemed sort of…_guilty_ about something, but I supposed I was just seeing things. My mind had spent so much time wishing for something that would never happen, and now I was starting to believe it…

"Our binding as one soul-."

"Marriage?!" He seemed annoyed when I cut him off once more.

I shouldn't have been surprised…the book said something about this.

"Are you truly confounded?" I didn't answer his question, but I could feel my heart breaking at his words…I'd always wanted to plan my wedding with a small crowd of my closest friends and family; however, that privilege was just taken away from me the very moment he laid his eyes upon me…

"But…I don't even know your name! An-and we _just_ got here!" I gasped out, trying to make up a good enough excuse for us to _not_ wed. My attempts were futile though as he tried to smile in a sympathetic way, but instead of it being relieving, it scared me as I pondered if he sucked blood like vampires in the myths when his fangs peaked out over his bottom lip.

"My name is Dark Link Goodwin Isaikin the Swordsman King…but you may affectionately call me 'Dark', mate...and it has _always_ been a tradition for the king and his Sothiya to marry the moment they arrive; however, people were becoming tired of the girl showing up covered in muck, so we changed the rule slightly…" It sounded like he was trying to make up a joke...

"Don't call me that degrading term…my name is Eliana Julliard, not 'queen' or 'Sothiya' or 'mate'."

"I know that, but after this ceremony, you will be known as 'Eliana Julliard Isaikin the Sothiya of the Swordsman King'...most people will refer to you as 'Sothiya' though..."

Not only had I been stripped from my family and my home, I also was cleared of my name. Dark tried to explain to me it was an honor to be called a Sothiya, but I didn't listen. I was too caught up in my despair to pay attention to his efforts to cheer me up…Why would he care about how I felt? He was the one who took everything away from me, so did he sincerely believe he could mend my heart?

Never have I _ever_ disliked someone as much as I did him…

I maybe even hated him.

When he realized I wasn't answering his questions, he leaned down and brushed his lips against my forehead before departing to the exit. The dull stinging that spread through my skull seemed weak compared to the pain that I felt in my heart as he left the room. Five women carrying hair brushes and curling pins entered the tiny area afterward, chattering loudly to themselves in a foreign language that I didn't understand. One of the women was carrying a platter of food, and offered it to me, but I stood there emotionless, not feeling hungry anymore as the four other girls stripped me out of my torn dress, tossing it to the side.

That dress was the only connection I had to home, so before the women could take my makeshift ribbon, I slid it out of my hair and held it in my palm tightly. The fabric felt soft, and reminded me of Malia…I let the tears fall…some of the girls ignored my silent cry while the others complained loudly to one another, making weird sounds as they brushed my dirty hair. I could feel one of them pour a warm liquid onto my scalp, massaging it in gently before drying my hair with a towel. I peeked into the mirror at the dresser, surprised to find the strands neatly brushed and cleaned…What did they use..? Some kind of witchcraft to do that? I would have asked, but they probably wouldn't understand what I was asking…

They stripped me down to my beige corset, possibly (I wasn't too sure…) contemplating to one another whether they should leave it on or off. They decided to take it off, leaving me bare as I shivered against the cold air; the women were pleased with my thin form, saying things to my face with bright grins.

I didn't thank them for their (could be) kind words, for I couldn't understand anything they were saying; I felt flustered and embarrassed… I just stood there as bare as I was when I was born, my eyes focused on the wooden flooring. I honestly didn't think I was as beautiful as they made me out to be. Compared to the other women my age in Hyrule, I was plain and simple… My legs weren't long and attractive as most men would prefer, and my eyes were a little too big for my face. I also had adopted what most people would consider a childish hairstyle, for I had bangs that were not swept to the side nor were they long…

Shaking my thoughts away, I could hear loud noises and chatting coming from outside in the ballroom as if a large crowd of people was filling up the inside. A loud knock banged on the door as three of the women jumped in front of me to save my body from any wandering eyes. An old and short woman entered, her crimson gaze falling on my own when she slammed the door shut. Many wrinkles and liver spots decorated her face and arms, and her white hair was covered with a dark veil. The girls stepped off to the side, allowing the woman to survey my body with piercing eyes. I felt self-conscious as she took my hand, turning it over to look at my palm. I nearly jerked away, but then the tiniest of smiles fell on her lips as she gazed into my eyes, memories of Malia flashing through my mind as this woman looked over at the five younger girls…

"Wide and ample hips, thin torso, and healthy posture; however, her breasts are a little small as well as her form… Have her ready to go in forty-five minutes." The woman turned and left, leaving me astonished at her perfect pronunciation of the Hylian language…Dark was the same way, so I assumed he had learned it from her.

The five girls understood her words, nodding their heads as they handed me a pair of white, lacy underwear. Several of them went to grab the white wedding dress off the mannequin, while the others set up the dresser with all sorts of make-up. I rarely wore make-up; only for special occasions did I use it because of how expensive it was…seeing all of the colors made me feel nauseous and nervous about how I was going to look afterward…but what did I care? I wasn't trying to impress anyone.

I pulled on the undergarments, standing still in my spot as the women came back over to me. In a rough accent, the shortest of all the girls told me that the last Sothiya was much taller than I, and had a narrow frame, so the dress would have to be altered. I nodded my head slightly, feeling the arm of a blonde girl pull me to the bench in front of the dresser. Two women clipped my hair up into the heated pins while a third one began to apply a powder to my cheeks. The room was noisy as the females bursted into laughter when one of them shouted something…I was beginning to feel light-headed at the craziness of it all.

I arrived here fifteen minutes ago, and I was already being married off to this man?

The surreal reality of it all came crashing down on my brain as I pondered running away…I could try, but I wouldn't make it very far.

_I have to show these people how elegant and good-mannered Hyrulians are._ I decided to put up with this one thing, and go out with my head held high; but I promised myself I would return to my cold state afterward.

It had been thirty minutes, and the girls were beginning to unpin my hair from my scalp. Each strand coiled up in bouncy curls, making my head feel better as the weight of my hair seemed to lighten. I glanced in the mirror, staring at my newly done face; my eyelashes seemed longer, my cheeks were a light pink, and my lips looked glossy…

I couldn't admire it for long though, because the ladies already had me out of my seat, and stepping into the wedding gown and heels. I didn't like the way how the end dragged across the ground, and silver beads on the breasts scratched at the insides of my arms… This dress was the exact opposite of what I wanted to wear to my wedding…

"A little red…" The youngest girl said, placing a red barrette with gold in my hair as the women stepped back to view their work. They all sounded like they were boasting, and kissed one another's cheeks in happiness; perhaps it was their way of congratulating one another?

They rushed me out the wooden door, mumbling words of encouragement as I stood looking dumbfounded…What in the world was I supposed to do?

A tall stage about five and a half feet tall shielded me from the noisy crowd in the ballroom. I tried to peak over, but the high heels I was given only gave me so much height…at least I won't look like a dwarf next to Dark… I sighed deeply, preparing myself for a long walk down the wooden floor…

I wanted my daddy to walk me down the long aisle, but instead, it only took me five steps to reach the large stage by myself. At first, I thought it was there for show, but it turned out that it was where we would be married… Cheers ensued when I came into view, my heart dropping at the sight of all the people. Rows upon rows of men, women, and children dressed in fancy clothing extended to the farthest wall and beyond, and I began to wonder if the entire urban population was invited…

Dark was standing at the side, waiting for me to grab his hand so we could proceed and move to the center of the stage…

No Goddess statues, no altar, no aisle and music… This was nothing like the weddings in Hyrule, nor the one that I wished for. I had no idea what I was doing, but I went ahead and grabbed Dark's hand, shuddering when his long fingers clasped and squeezed my own. I held my head high as I had planned beforehand, staring straight into the scarlet eyes of each individual sitting in the crowd. I could hear the man beside me whispering in my ear on what was to come next.

"My consultant will come out to say a few words, and then we will take those glasses," He pointed to the wine glasses sitting on a table with a white cloth draped over top, "and pour our drinks at the same time."

I didn't acknowledge him, but it was hard to not flinch away from his hot breath as it fanned over my ear…

"You look beautiful, you know…" He whispered, a frown appearing on my lips before I turned my head to look at him. I hadn't noticed that he had changed clothes, for he was now wearing a black and gold, long-sleeved shirt and a golden cape. A crown sat upon his silver hair, the gemstones shining brightly in the light of the chandeliers along with his crimson eyes. He looked content with the situation, but a certain hardness was presented as he gazed upon his people. Power radiated from him so much that it was practically oozing when he rose his hand (the one not grasping mine) high into the air to silence the crowd. A hush fell as only few babies were left crying, their mother's trying their best to quiet them…

Behind us, the old woman who came into my dressing room climbed up to a podium, speaking in their language as I began to doze off…

"Sothiya" crossed my ears many times while she spoke; Dark translating the essence of her words and the meaning. They were basically vows, however, we wouldn't be speaking them to one another, thankfully. She gestured her arm over to us, the man at my side tugging me forward, asking me to place my hand on top of his. Feeling disgruntled, I smacked my hand atop of his to show my unhappiness, watching him give me a warning glare…I wasn't going to bow down like his servants, though, I wanted to show him how much I disliked him.

Digging my nails into his skin, I followed him as we grabbed the wine bottle, slowly pouring one another a drink before setting the bottle to the side. Dark guided my arm as he wrapped it around his own, both of us carrying our drinks. Our elbows connecting as we came face to face with one another...

"Drink, but not all of it." He commanded, taking a long gulp from his glass. I did the same, cringing at the taste as the fluid cleared out my throat. The room was silent as we watched one another, our eyes glued while we battled for dominance. The King of Shadows seemed surprised with the fight, an exasperated look crossing his face as I gave him a tacky, fake grin. He pulled us toward the front of the stage where a giant mirror sat parallel to us, his deep voice becoming husky when he threatened to do something terrible if I didn't stop what I was doing. I shrugged my shoulders, pretending to play dumb while I listened to him mutter, "How in the world is she the Sothiya?" to himself.

I watched him as he poured his drink onto the mirror, following suit with a weird look on my face. What in Nayru's name were we doing? Pouring wine onto a mirror? Really?

But my thoughts began to falter when I heard the old woman shout something behind us. My eyes widened with amazement when the glass began to glow brightly, the beams shining beautifully onto the faces of everyone near it. The liquid sank into the glass, forming a picture that I couldn't make out as Dark explained that the mirror will give us a hint to our future together. The liquid began to resurface, everyone, except for me, holding their breaths as they all tried to crowd around.

The image of a beautiful sunset arose, sighs of relief filling the room as people whispered the name of the picture to one another…

However…

The liquid began to take on a different shape, shifting into a long, thick, and wavy line…with two red eyes at the end…

A black snake stared back at me before disappearing into the looking-glass while the bright lights faded to nothingness. I glanced up at Dark's face to ask him what it meant, but then I froze. His skin looked clammy, and his eyes were narrowed fiercely. People were starting to shout out "Poino! Poino!"

I didn't need a translation to understand what they were saying.

The ballroom erupted with cries of terror, causing my heart to race as I tugged on the king's sleeve. I begged him to tell me the meaning, shaking him out of his thoughts when his bright, red eyes bored into my own…

"Betrayal."

The fire within me disappeared as all thoughts of trying to distance myself and domination left my mind.

Betrayal?

In order to betray someone, you must be close to him, or aligned with one another.

Will I grow close to this man? I couldn't…

Or, I had a better question…

Who would betray the other? Me or him?

The King of Shadows raised his arm, yelling loudly as people slowly took notice of him. Looks of _pity_ were shot in our direction by the crowd, their silence more formidable than their gasps. Was this the first time they had ever seen something like this?

A speech came from his lips, explaining the circumstances to the crowd to settle their uneasiness. I couldn't understand what he was saying, but my name popped up several times as everyone's emotions moved from frightened to ok to joyful once more. Dark let out a bellowing laugh that seemed quite uncharacteristic and forced; the people following suit, but more realistic as they bought into what he said.

I watched him carefully, seeing his jaw tighten when the crowd shifted to form a path for us to walk through. He pulled me along down a set of steps at the side of the stage, no longer caring if I looked presentable or not…My plan to look regal and elegant left me as I let my head droop in despair, pushing through the crowd as they chanted my name. I was no longer Eliana Julliard, but Eliana Julliard Isaikin...the Sothiya.

"Eliana! Eliana!"

I thought Dark said they would refer to me as "Sothiya"?

I stumbled after him, not being used to wearing heels as large as the pair I had on now. We moved out of the ball room, finding that the line continued down a long corridor in the castle. The further we traveled, the more less desirable the people became…fancy dresses and suits changed to peasant skirts and dirty overalls, and I could feel my heart ache at how sad these people appeared. One child with pink eyes and gray skin looked on at me with amazement, and her body was covered in so many scars it was unbearable to hold eye contact with her. My mind wanted my legs to stop moving, to go talk to her and give her everything she could possibly ever dream of, but my legs couldn't-no, _wouldn't_ stop moving.

Climbing up a flight of stairs, we finally made it to a large set of wooden double doors, and halted just before we could escape into privacy. Red and white curtains were shielding the outside world from our view, but I could tell it was starting to rain by the way how little shadows fell down the window…

Dark turned to me, and stiffly kissed my forehead once more; the familiar burning sensation spreading as my thoughts were still stuck on the little girl with pink eyes…I worried for her safety and health as I thought about how she would have to walk home in the rain while the rich could ride carriages back to their mansions. I wondered if her parents were there to take care of her; however, she appeared to be alone in the crowd.

I could feel a connection forming between us although I had never met the girl. We were the same…

Pushing open the doors, I was met with a large bedroom. A king-sized bed sat idly on the opposite side of the room, along with two nightstands, several dressers, a bookshelf, and a love seat. My heart raced while I stared the mattress down and its comforter that was made up neatly on top. Two doors flanked each side of the room as I pondered making a run for it through one of them, but I decided against it, figuring it was a terrible plan and that I should learn what we doing here first.

"The crowd will disperse in about one hour, so for the time being, you can do whatever you want." He said, pulling off his boots before crashing onto the love seat. I watched him with a questioning look, staring at his closed eyes until he opened them, making me look away in embarrassment. I had seen so many sides to this man in one day, it was _even close_ to being funny.

I wanted to ask him about the snake image we saw in the mirror, but I couldn't bring myself to do it, for I was too caught up in other things. To avoid an awkward silence, I said the first thing that came to my mind:

"The bed…don't newlywedded couples-like uh…do… _stuff_ afterward..? Because if you think I'm going-" My words faltered when a laugh bursted out of his mouth, confusion replacing my angered state.

"I didn't know Hylians were so horny and sexually driven! But hey, if you want to have sex, by all means, I'm ready." He began to unbutton his shirt in a suggestive way, and my face flared a bright red as I yelled at him to stop, turning away from him angrily as my thoughts began to bring out my newly found dark personality.

How could I do something that was suppose to be loving and special with a man like him? He was a monster, a selfish fool, a power-hungry demon, and…

A murderer.

I stalked over to the bookshelf, searching through the selection for anything I could understand. Each book was written in strange lettering, and looked as if they were about to fall apart. I sighed sadly, deciding to just sit down and relax while we waited for the signal to leave the room.

There were no available chairs, and I _absolutely_ refused to sit on the bed, or the loveseat with him, so I sat on the rug below the bookshelf, pressing my back against it before playing with the beads on my white dress. I reached inside of my clothes, finding the ribbon from my pale green dress that I wore here before clutching it tightly in my hand...

I didn't want to be here…I wanted to go home, but my family was dead. I had no friends, no life, and no reason to give a care about what would happen if I continued on the way I was now.

I was married to a murderer, taken away from my home, and stripped from my name.

I felt as though I had nothing else to live for in life.

My stomach growled angrily, but I hushed it with my mind, telling it to quiet down for it would all be over soon enough. Starvation seemed like a good way…

"Come sit with me." I could hear him say, but I ignored his voice, allowing the past to consume my thoughts as I focused on the happier days. "Eliana."

I didn't hear him call my name, because I was too busy playing with my mother on the piano.

I decided to forget about reality, and go with the flow of my mind. If I couldn't escape from here physically, then mentally would have to suffice until later.

* * *

**A.N.: Depression is starting to kick in for Eliana as the hopelessness of her situation and her lack of optimism take control. Next chapter will dive into it some more with Dark's POV one week (I've decided to change the deadline from one week to one month) after their marriage as time becomes a very important factor for him. Thanks to all of my followers, favoriters, and reviewers! It means so much to me to know that you all cared to read my story! Have a wonderful day! :D  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**A.N.: Woo! I'm just pumping chapters out like crazy! This one is even longer than the last, so I hope you all like it! This will jump more into Eliana's stage of depression, and how Dark struggles to separate the differences between doing what he has to do for his people, and "The Pull" that he feels toward his Sothiya. Thank you to everyone who is reading this now, and I love you all to death!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda.**

* * *

"_...We had to lock her away. Everything she saw was a weapon in her eyes…whether it be a mirror or a pen, she used whatever she could to harm herself in a fatal way. She would always be mumbling, talking about her baby sister in a haunting way…_

_I had no other choice but to kill her sister! She was a nuisance, and refused to accept her older sibling's fate. So…I drove my dagger deep into her throat, unknowing of the punishment that would come after my mistake._

_How was I supposed to help my people if the Sothiya was a suicidal and unpredictable maniac?! We were going to have to resort to the unthinkable, for as the saying goes: desperate times call for desperate measures…"_

_~ An excerpt from Phillip Jesuin Isaikin, the Animal King's, journal_

* * *

She was as beautiful as I remembered her.

Her smile seemed to radiate in the sunlight, and her brown locks shined prettily as it moved with the wind. The way how her fingers would run through my hair was comforting, and the nightmare of my life ceased to exist as we both laughed together happily.

The blue sky carried no clouds, and the trees in our backyard danced gleefully as we walked together, discussing what was to be done later in the day and the latest gossip that was going around. She would want to dive deep into the business of everyone, believing that her opinion would change their lives as well as her own, but then I would have to remind her of how talking about others was inappropriate. We would then move on to a different topic, chatting with one another as we traveled on the endless path to no where.

I smiled to myself, enjoying the heat of the sun as I closed my eyes. "I wish we could stay out here forever."

Then the air became cold, striking its knife by twisting itself viciously into my pores… I could hear her mumbling something, telling me that what I was doing was wrong, and a poor decision on my behalf. Opening my eyes, I prepared to ask her what she meant, but she wasn't there…

I looked in all directions, my heart shuddering ferociously against my ribcage while I searched for the woman…

"Mommy?" I squeaked out, my voice cracking when snapping sounds reached my ears. I made a complete half turn, looking down the endless path of orange and brown leaves as they fell gently to the ground.

Strange…it was supposed to be Spring; why were the leaves falling?

Staring deeper down the path, a black hole approached at an alarmingly fast speed, consuming all in its path as it tore through my peaceful dream. I gasped before taking several steps back, running as fast as I could down the dirt road. Darkness crept forward slowly, clouding the corners of my vision as it chased after me. Each step I took seemed to make me move slower and slower until every long stride made me feel as though I wasn't moving at all. My knees gave out on me, allowing me to curl up on the ground while the black hole consumed me.

I awaited death…but it never came.

I opened my eyes and stood from my spot on the ground, feeling as though I were floating through space until a haunting girlish laugh echoed throughout..

It was my mother's.

"Eliana, you need to wake up." The laugh ended, leaving me in silence.

"Mommy?" I repeated her name, looking around through the darkness for any sign of her.

"A great evil is coming, my dear… You have been neglecting your duties to the people of the Dark World." Her once kind voice became solemn and distant as she spoke. I didn't question her knowledge of the Shadow people, wanting to explain to her my reasons for hiding from the world.

Whispers reverberated in the background, quietly teasing me as my breath picked up its pace, "You don't understand…How am I supposed to love a man who had murdered _our_ family! He has killed hundreds of innocent men, and expects me to bear his child after he killed my father-your husband!"

"No, Eliana, _you_ do not understand. Do you believe this man _wanted_ to take you away? His deeds have been by far most cruel, but you are the key to the reason he had done what he did…by refusing to accept your fate, not only will the deaths of those victims be in vain, but the entire _race_ of his people will die as well…"

A bright light flashed through the darkness. I was now standing in the town square of Castle Town, dead bodies littering the ground in all directions I had turned. The familiar faces of Malia, my father, and Simon appeared, their dull eyes staring at me as if to taunt my mind. Glancing down at my hands, I was carrying a dagger drenched in a red substance, and I immediately released it from my hold…

Alan laid on the ground in front of me, his broken body sitting in a mass of blood along with the pink-eyed peasant girl I had seen in the castle…

"-and your neglect will result in something that is far more evil than what that man had done…"

Tears streamed down my face as the horrific sight flashed away just as quickly as it came. I was left speechless by her words, my legs shaking while I stared into the dark oblivion of nothingness.

"My child…beware…a great power is coming to take away what is now most important to you."

I turned around in my spot, finding the tiny, little girl with pink eyes. Her unkempt, blond hair blew gently with an invisible wind as she giggled loudly, running in the opposite direction until she faded away. I turned once more, listening to her giggles as my gaze flew wildly back and forth. Her laughs were coming from all directions.

"Never forget that…"

I clutched my head in my hands, screaming at the voices to go away.

"Wake up…"

The giggles and whispers became louder, engulfing my body with its clutches.

"Wake up… "

A hand was placed on my shoulder…it was a little girl; however she didn't have blond hair and pink eyes…it was brown and her orbs were a blueish-green color…

"WAKE UP!"

I opened my eyes.

* * *

"This is, by far, the dumbest thing you have ever done…"

It had been one week. One week full of despair and mystery on whether she would awaken from her sadness. I knew I was to blame for her distance, and it was not uncommon for Sothiya's to lose all sense of meaning in their lives…but I had never heard of it being quite as bad as Eliana's.

"-as if it wasn't already hard enough trying to keep them sane after they've been taken away from their lives, but you just _had_ to go a little further by murdering her family!" Patricia chastised, shaking her head at me in shame. I knew I deserved the punishment…

"I spared her father's life! In my defense, I did what I had to for our people!" I leaned back in my chair, running a hand under my cap in frustration as I thought about how hopeless it all seemed. I would enter her room when I had the spare time, and sit with her in an attempt to coax her from her endless sorrow. Most of the time she would sleep, but when she wasn't, she would stare blankly at the wall, refusing to show any sign or care. Every once in a while, she would accept several sips of water, but food was a different story for her.

My wife was dying…and it was all my fault.

"Yes, but she doesn't know that…she's not like other women, Dark. You can't expect her to just fall into your arms." My advisor turned her back on me, throwing her arms into the air as she approached one of the many bookshelves in my study. Focusing my gaze on the papers in front of me, I pushed them off to the side, not feeling up to reading about the immigration settlement problems in the West.

"Yeah, but it worked with the other women…I didn't know she was going to be this stressful!" In my teenage years, I will admit that I was quite the ladies' man. With a little showing-off and a flash of a smile, the Shadow girls found me irresistible, swooning in my direction with approval. Eliana was different though…no matter how many sweet words I would whisper in her ear or light touches I would give her, she refused to fall under like the others…

"If she is as stubborn as you make her out to be, try getting her to wake up by appealing to that stubbornness… Instead of just going to her room and eating with her, try giving her something she likes; _show_ her how much you care for her." I jumped out of my thoughts when Patricia slammed a book onto my desk, pushing it forward in my direction. The leather covering the outside of the book was old and worn, and the pages were browned with age. Where did this novel come from? I knew the names of every book in my selection, so where did she get this? "She is not the only Sothiya who has done this, Your Highness…"

"How am I supposed to 'appeal to her stubbornness'?" I don't know anything about her…if you have forgotten already, she hasn't spoken to me ever since the ceremony!" For once in my life, I was unsure of myself. My capabilities and doubts have become worse with each passing day, not just mentally, but physically. My decline in my magic skills had subsided temporarily after our binding; however, it was starting to return as the deadline for the final step approached at a fast rate… My powers were disappearing along with my energy, and I didn't know what to do about it.

"Don't use your smart words with me! I wasn't the one who made her this way!"

Patricia's words flew in one ear and out the other as I brushed off her hurtful statement which was absolutely true. I grabbed the book on the desk and flipped it open to the first page, surprised to find that it was someone's journal. The first entry was only two paragraphs long; dated one-hundred and forty years ago.

My consultant cleared her throat, "Kings from past generation have written their experiences in hopes to alleviate the difficulties for future rulers of our nation… Use it wisely-"

A soft knock was heard.

I granted permission for entry, my mind praying that it would be who I thought it was. Instead, I was left with disappointment when a middle-aged male servant entered silently, carrying a tray with three cups of steaming water. He seemed nervous being in our presence, apologizing quickly for interrupting our meeting.

None of us said anything to him, accepting the drinks he had brought us. "Is she awake?" I asked, knowing that he understood what I meant by "awake". He shook his head gesturing to the single cup on his tray to signal that today wasn't any different from the past seven. I pinched the bridge of my nose, dismissing the servant with a wave of my hand. I tore my hat off my head, letting it fall onto the floor while I rubbed my eyes in distress. My consultant took a sip of her drink, requesting that I pay a visit to my depressed wife before exiting my study to leave me to my thoughts.

Shaking my head, I gazed out the window for a moment, noting that it was only noon. I felt exhausted from the sleeplessness that had plagued me at night, and I had to cancel many meetings with the Great Seven due to the lack of progress I had made with the Sothiya. People were beginning to question where she was at, becoming anxious for news as rumors spread about Eliana's disappearance…

I glanced down at the book lying open in front of me, reading through my great-grandfather's first entry that talked about how he wished this journal would help his kin. Maybe I should skim through it…there might be something useful to help me.

I had spent about one hour reading through the diary, and I had just finished the final entry from my great-grandfather. The Sothiya, my great-grandmother, was an airhead of a woman; believing that he was a prince who had come to sweep her off her feet before submitting herself to him without a thought. But hey…as long as her duty was done, it didn't matter if it was unrequited love she held.

...

_Bang!_ I glanced up at my door, raising an eyebrow at my elder brother, Mathias. He wasn't supposed to be here…and his hasty entrance made me wonder if something was wrong.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him, remembering that he told me he had some business to take care of in the Factual World. He wasn't supposed to return until a couple of days, so seeing him here was quite surprising.

"No 'welcome back', Darky? I guess things will never change…" He laughed, flashing me his white teeth before striding over to my desk, pushing my files out-of-the-way before taking a seat on the wooden surface. I glared at him evilly, pulling the journal I was reading under the table.

Placing the book inside the bottom drawer of my desk, I sighed deeply. "What are you doing here?" I repeated once more, stretching my stiff muscles from not moving them for a long period of time.

"Things went better than expected, so we finished a little early…Anyway, what's got your bloomers in a bunch, Darky? Is she_ still_ not listening to you?" Mathias flicked his dark braid off his shoulder, jumping up from his seated position before I could shove him to the floor.

This man was twenty-seven-years-old and he still acted like a child… He'd been calling me that nickname ever since we were pre-teens, and never had it once failed to annoy me.

"Mathias, I am busy… What do you want?" I asked, resting my elbows onto the desk before clutching my head in my hands. I had so many things I was worried about, and little time to address them all… I couldn't deal with his antics at the moment...

"Geez, why so serious, Your Highness? Can't your big brother come and visit you?" Mathias pouted at me until he noticed the dark look I had on my face. He knew that he was pushing things a little too far; however, that wasn't going to keep him from pestering me.

"As I had said before: I am busy. I will see you at dinner in the afternoon…so if you will, please?" I motioned to the door with my hand, pleading for him to leave with my eyes. A serious look crossed his face before he leaned forward, and placed his hands upon the wooden surface of my desk. His armor clanked noisily with each of his movements, maximizing the oncoming migraine in my head.

"It's the girl, isn't it?" He asked, watching me as I nodded my head without looking at him. "Have you tried everything?"

"Would we still be sitting here if I hadn't tried everything?" I scoffed, leaning back in my chair to cross my arms over my chest. I watched Mathias's angular visage twist into a look of thought, letting my mind drift to different places.

"But you haven't tried _everything_…" He said, emphasizing his voice on the word "everything." Turning sharply on his heel, he opened the doors to my Study, peeking his head out to mutter something to the guards. I watched him warily, unsure of what to think about what he was doing.

"What have I not done that you know of? We have to face it, Mathias…she's dying."

"She's not _dying_. You just have to wake her up from this…_state_ she has fallen into…in all honestly, she's probably trying to come out of her shell! You just don't realize it." He said, grabbing a feather pen off my desk before asking for a piece of paper.

I handed him a note card. "What are you planning?"

"...I'm planning on saving our race. The better question is what are you going to do?"

We waited for many hours. The priestess Mathias had sent for seemed to enjoy taking her time... It was nearing dinner, and she was supposed to have arrived one hour after we had sent for her.

My patience was wearing thin while I paced outside of Eliana's door. Servants who passed by me were pressing their backs as close as they could to the wall, afraid of being in the line of fire when I would explode. This ridiculous idea Mathias had presented was turning out to be even _more_ ridiculous than I had originally thought…but what other choice did I have?

I could feel a tap on my shoulder and quickly turned around, a glare naturally decorating my features. A teenage peasant girl stared at me with wide eyes, letting a squeak escape her lips before she bowed her head down in respect. An elderly woman who was standing behind her apologized profusely for the girl's mistake, claiming that she was new and didn't understand that touching the king could result in punishment…

"Make sure it doesn't happen again." I said, grabbing the tray of food from the girl's hands. The old woman agreed, apologizing once more before scrambling off with the teenager down the hall. I felt bad for acting as cruel as I did, but I was cranky and was forced to remind myself that being feared was better than being loved.

I glanced down at the tray I was holding, finding a simple ration of wheat bread and a glass of milk. I wasn't expecting Eliana to eat it, but I could still hope…

I opened the door to her room, not bothering to knock because I knew she wouldn't answer. Shutting the door quietly behind me, I stared at the clean, tiny area that was Eliana's room, being careful not to trip over her rug. There were no windows in the room, for we feared she would one day decide to take a dive down the three-story drop. The only furniture was a queen-sized bed and dresser to carry what little clothes we had for her…this was because we were afraid she might_ try_ something like past Sothiyas…

I crept over to her bed, turning on the single lantern that was kept at bedside. I set her food on the floor, running my fingers through her dull, brown hair a little as I listened to her quiet breathing. Her skin was clammy and pale, and her ocean-colored eyes stared blankly at the wall, blinking every once in a while to remind me she was still alive. Although she spent most of her day sleeping, dark circles sat underneath her eyes…

She looked so skinny and frail…It was hard to believe she was the hot-headed and intelligent girl from before who had evaded capture longer than any other Sothiya. I wanted to touch her face, but I was afraid she would fall to pieces under my touch, so I resided to just brushing her hair with my fingers.

"I brought you some food." I said, unable to think of anything else to say. The girl didn't look at me, nor did she make any sign to let me know that she heard my words. She stared straight through me and my heart, her eyes looking like they were trained on something nonexistent.

I continued on anyway, "Do you want me to feed it to you?"

I hadn't taken care of anyone since before my father's passing, but it felt natural to want to take care of this girl. I felt like a child who had just broken his favorite toy, and was now trying his best to fix it…but no matter how much effort he put into it, the toy refused to be fixed.

I felt guilty for bringing this woman to the Dark World…the toll that had been taken on her body was beyond repair, and for a brief moment, I thought that death would be what is best for her…

But I shook my thoughts away…I wasn't supposed to care for this girl. I was doing this for my people and our future, so I couldn't let this boulder block our path to success.

However, the longer I stared at her empty blue eyes, the more I wanted to protect her from the evil I had placed upon her…

_If she is as stubborn as you make her out to be, try getting her to wake up by appealing to that stubbornness… Instead of just going to her room and eating with her, try giving her something she likes; show her how much you care for her._

Carefully, I lifted the sheets from her shoulders, finding her small hand curled up into a fist. I reached down to touch her cold skin, knowing that she was just as drained and exhausted as I was. I pried her fingers open, finding a pale green fabric in her hand that was wrinkled and dirty. I didn't know where she got it from, but if she was holding onto it, it must had been important. I decided to not toss it away, keeping it by her body when I entwined out fingers together.

It felt strange…this pull I felt toward her. I didn't know who she was or anything about her, yet I did all at the same time. As confusing as it sounded, it made sense in my mind to hold her hand tightly as if to let her know I was there for her.

"Are you really going to give up and let me win this battle, Eliana? I know you're stronger than that," I encouraged, watching her eyes for any sign or care. "They need you…your family…the Shadows…they need you to stop doing whatever you are doing. I can only do so much for you, but in the end, it is all up to you…" I wanted to hear her voice whether it be a defiant remark and a condescending scoff or a small acknowledgement that she cared…

I squeezed her hand tightly, but she didn't respond. "..."

"Eliana…_I need you_." I said, hoping to bring her out of her shell. My words were entirely true, but…

She wasn't there. I was basically talking to an empty vessel.

I leaned down to kiss her forehead, brushing her bangs away slightly. Her skin was icy, and I couldn't help myself to let my lips linger a little longer; as if my touch could warm her body. The familiar marking that signified our relationship burned brightly, the black ink-like substance becoming clear on her skin before fading away and hiding itself once more. For a moment, I swore that I could feel her fingers tighten, but I brushed it off when I saw her blank face once more.

I stood from my spot on her bed, releasing her from my hold before preparing to exit the room; however, I could hear Mathias's voice coming from outside, talking to several people as they knocked on the door. I allowed him to enter, stepping off to the side as two women followed after him.

One of the women was Patricia, looking as stoic as ever when she passed by. The second woman was many decades older than I, and she was dressed in a red and white, traditional priestess outfit. This woman seemed familiar in a way, but all old women looked the same with their white hair and wrinkled faces… She carried a small black bag with her, and bowed in my direction once before apologizing for her late arrival. Apparently, she had some problems with humans trying to enter into our realm, so she had to ward them off before she could come here.

"This is not the first time I have done this." She said, pushing her glasses up her nose as she dropped her bag onto the end of the bed. I was preparing to protest, but Patricia hushed me, asking that the woman continue with an explanation of what she was going to do.

"Are you going to hurt her?" I asked before the priestess could say anything, feeling dumb after my question had left my lips. Why would Mathias invite her if she was going to injure Eliana?

The priestess chuckled. "Overprotective, huh? I promise to not hurt the Sothiya; however, she may feel slight discomfort with what I'm about to do…"

"Will this cure her from her…sickness?" Patricia asked, a no-nonsense tone in her voice.

"I'm just going to give her a little_ persuasion_… allow me to explain." The woman pulled various jars full of potion out of her bag, twisting the lids off each bottle before setting them off to the side. "First off, we need the girl to be standing up…"

I glanced over at Mathias, seeing that he was thinking the same thing that I was. I pulled the bed sheets off of Eliana, lifting her in my arms before standing her up in the center of the room. Mathias held her left side while I focused on her right, keeping her knees locked and in place.

"Now, give her this." She said, handing a red-colored liquid to Patricia. I watched with suspicion, keeping my eyes trained on the priestess as she downed a red potion as well…If she was ok, then I supposed it would be fine for the Sothiya to drink it…

"What will this do?" I asked, watching Patricia open Eliana's mouth to feed the girl the potion. We watched her for a few moments, feeling awkward when nothing happened.

"The red elixir we drank will allow me to enter the deepest parts of her mind, and see her greatest fears, her best triumphs, her likes and dislikes, _everything_… I'm going to sort of scare her out of this depression she has fallen under." The woman said, grabbing a slip of paper and pen before writing something in strange lettering I had never seen before. She stepped in front of Eliana, placing the thin paper onto her cream-colored night-gown. The woman reached into her back pocket, pulling out a small, wooden top the size of a small bug. She spun it on the dresser, the designs carved into the top forming the picture of a flower.

She turned to me, watching me carefully with her red eyes. "Do I have your permission? We can stop now if you would like?"

I shook my head. "Just…save her."

"The moment I touch her, you all must release your hold on her, and no matter what you hear… _do not_, under any circumstances, _touch her_…"

We nodded our heads at her words, watching her step forward cautiously to the blank eyes of the Sothiya. She gently placed her hand on the girl's shoulder, and Mathias and I jumped back from our positions.

Eliana's eyes widened for a moment, her knees locking in place before her gaze became half-lidded. Her breathing picked up its pace as her frail body began to drift from leg to leg as if she were in a trance. Her mouth opened slightly as if to say something, but all she could do was stare deeply into the red eyes of the priestess.

I watched with horror when tears began to fall from her eyes, and her legs shook uncontrollably underneath her. I could feel my consultant place a hand on my shoulder, reassuring me that everything would be fine.

For three, horribly awful minutes, I watched with horror when Eliana's croaked voice began to whisper the word "Mommy", each one being filled with more emotion than the last. The priestess was focusing all her energy on the girl, digging through the deepest parts of her brain as she tried to tempt the girl into leaving the world she had fallen accustomed to the last seven days.

My gaze drifted over to the top that was still spinning on the dresser. It began to wobble a little before slowing down, nearly coming to a complete stop.

I watched the girl as she shut her eyes tightly before opening them widely, gasping as if she had just woken up from a nightmare.

The top had fallen over.

Her knees were giving out on her, but the priestess caught her before she could fall. The woman smiled at us, signaling that the procedure was done. Mathias and I grabbed Eliana, looking at her closed eyes as she appeared to be sleeping peacefully.

"Is that it?" Mathias asked, helping me carry the feather-light girl back to her bed.

"Yes…she will sleep for several hours, and then awaken feeling tired and sore, which is usual. Feed her soups and liquids only, and try to wait for the potion to pass through her system before trying to give her more solid foods…" The priestess gathered her things quickly, wasting no time.

"How much pay would you like for your noble duties, Ms…?" Patricia trailed off.

"No formalities…just call me Opal," The woman smiled, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, "and you all owe me nothing…knowing that I was able to play a part in saving this world is enough for me." She said, trailing out the door to allow the guards that were stationed outside to wait for us guide her out of the castle.

I didn't thank the woman, deciding to do so _after_ Eliana would awaken; however, I was still grateful. The three of us stood in the plain room silently, staring at the doorway as the priestess disappeared from our sights as quickly as she came. She was a strange woman, but I was indebted to her either way.

"Well I'm beat!" Mathias said, raising his arms high into the air before making all kinds of strange noises. With a quick salute and a ridiculous bow, Mathias swiftly exited the room, his dark braid chasing after him as he moved. Patricia looked at me with worry, asking me if I was going to be ok…I honestly wasn't sure, but I told her I was fine anyway.

Calling in the nearest servant, I told them to bring me a stool that I could sit on while I waited for the Sothiya's awakening. I wished Patricia farewell as I stood still in my spot, staring out the window at the night sky, my thoughts invading me.

I was glad that she would be ok…but I had to remind myself that I wasn't really worried for her, but worried for my people. A nagging feeling seemed to tell me otherwise in the back of my mind as "The Pull" began to take over, but I knew it was all apart of the ritual. Now that she would be fine, all I had to do was take a new approach at wooing her so then she would learn to accept what is now her life.

I was presented with a stool a few minutes later, sitting beside her bed. I didn't sit down at first, for I noticed something resting idly on the dresser in the room…it was the wooden top.

_She must have forgotten this._ I picked up the small piece, tossing it back and forth between my hands before putting it into my pocket.

Sitting down at her bedside, I watched Eliana's sleeping form, feeling more relaxed at how she didn't seem as tense nor cold to the touch. I felt sort of like a stalker staring at her like this, so I pushed the chair against the wall so I wouldn't be hovering over her when she would rise from her slumber. Crossing my one leg over the other, I moved my cap forward to cover my eyes, turning off the lantern before drifting off to a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**A.N.: I know…this wasn't my best chapter and I felt like this was a lame way on how to end a chapter…but I had to end it there! I've already passed my five-thousand word mark! I hope you all enjoyed, and please leave me a little something-something (whether it be good or bad) on your way out! Have a wonderful day, and I will hopefully see you all next chapter! :D**


	7. Chapter 7

**A.N.: Before we begin this chapter, I want to make it clear that Eliana is NOT aware of what Opal had done. More will be explained later in the chapter, so go ahead and get started! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda.**

* * *

"_...It's quite remarkable...to think that the King of Shadows is a doppelgänger of the boy. I suppose even the most courageous and foolish have evil sides...We must enslave him, force him to end this streak…Tell him that we will release him after he has served us by destroying the boy, but keep him until I can arrive to collect his power. I will decide what to do with him later…"_

_~An excerpt from a letter written by an unknown man that was found lying on the edge of the Gerudo Desert, being dated in the period of the Hero of Time_

* * *

Although it was slow, I could feel myself regaining my energy already.

My breaths were no longer labored and half-hearted pants, but deep and welcoming intakes of air. My muscles were still sore and stiff from lying around all week, and walking was a challenge at times, but it was nice to be able to give my legs a chance to move, stretching them out with each step.

It was a great feeling for my body, but a nagging inkling still refused to settle itself down in the back of my mind. I now was beginning to understand my importance to this world, yet I still knew that it was completely unfair on my half. Selfishness? I didn't believe I was being selfish…In my defense, it was a natural reaction to disaster; however, why else would my mother send me that message? If she thought it would be best that I give up, then she would had left me to my wishes, yet she came to stop me…

Not only that, but I could only remember small bits and pieces from the dream I had… I recalled everything about how my "selfish" mistakes would result in the extermination of an entire origin of people, and faint, quotidian details that haunted me…

But she said something about a "great evil" arising?

I was probably reading into too much, but I couldn't help throwing in the several, negative possibilities of what my mother had said…

Did it have something to do with the betrayal that was predicted for Dark's and my future? Or perhaps it was something else far more daunting than I expected?

I supposed I would worry about that when the time comes, but for now, I had other things to deal with-

"Eat your food."

-like learning how to live once more.

"I don't feel hungry though…" I muttered, telling him half of the truth. We were sitting in the dining room of the castle, which was not as large as the food hall downstairs on the first floor. The table we were sitting at was made of a smooth limestone and seated up to eight people. Since this room was apart of the King's Quarters, it wasn't as elaborately decorated like the other parts of the castle, and made to feel more cozy and homey.

I sat to the left of the king as he had requested, staring at the massive amounts of bacon that was sitting on my plate. It was supposed to "help make me stronger" according to Dark, but all I could think about was how my stomach would feel when the grease would enter my system. I requested some white bread from the servants, but Dark stopped them before they could leave the room. According to him, wheat bread was more healthy than white, so I was to be given the healthier of the two.

I disliked wheat bread…but strangely enough, I was ok with white. When a young boy came running out with several slices, I thanked him kindly, watching as his face turned into one of shock. Before I could ask him why, he ran off back into the kitchen, leaving me with my mouth hanging open in preparation to speak.

I glanced down at the bread, admiring how perfectly sliced and evenly done each piece was. I grabbed it with my hands, peeking over at Dark to see him shoveling a steaming hotcakes into his mouth. He inhaled his food so quickly that I was surprised he didn't choke…I wondered if he ate like that within public view?

Tearing off a piece, I tossed the stale-tasting bread into my mouth, shuddering at the bland flavor… my taste buds tingled at the sensation and my stomach rumbled for more as I dove into the bread, shoving more pieces in as hunger began to consume me.

I didn't realize how ravenous I was before… I had eaten the three slices of bread within one minute, pushing my plate forward. I wished I had some Ordon milk to wash it down, but I stuck with a glass of water instead.

Although I had only three pieces, I was full…my stomach had shrunk during my one week of isolation, but I felt more motivated to change that. For now, the bread would have to suffice…

I glanced over to the man on my right, finding him staring at me before he directed his gaze back to his empty plate. He seemed different from when I had first met him; he was no longer acting in a sensual way toward me and held his tongue every time I would brush his arm off my own. He told me as we headed to breakfast that he would try to change direction of his ways, and he wished that I could be his friend. I didn't reply to his statement, unsure of what to say to him. I was angry, but not angry at the same time, so I decided to keep my emotions hidden.

"You should eat some more." He pushed me out of my thoughts, talking while he ate. For a few seconds, I stared at him with bewilderment at how impolite and disgusting he was when he ate his food. I pointed out to him that he had several jam stains on the corners of his mouth, and his face reddened slightly as he vigorously scrubbed at his jaw. A giggle bubbled in my throat at the sight, but I pushed it down before it could escape while my mind reminded me of the things he had done in the past.

"I'm full." I said, not feeling up to explaining my reasons to this man. At first, I was under the impression that he was going to protest against my words, opening his mouth before closing it as he thought, but then he nodded his head in agreement.

Something must have happened while I was away because this was not the Dark that I knew.

With a wave of his hand, the king's servants came forward and collected our plates. I thanked the young boy from before as he took my things, waiting for me to wipe my mouth before accepting my napkin as well. He gave me a tiny smile, speaking quietly to me:

_"Ces dou le, Eliana."_

I was stunned by his words, watching him pivot on his heel before marching quickly over to the swing door that would lead him into the kitchen. Dark and I stood from our chairs, and I wobbly walked behind him, my sore legs taking a few moments to stretch themselves. We both sauntered in silence, exiting the dining room in the King's Quarters.

Dark explained what my plans for today would consist, telling me that I was still too weak to begin my tasks as the Sothiya. I zoned out part way through his explanation of when I should arrive for lunch and dinner, my mind still focused on one little detail that seemed to keep coming up…

"Why do they call me by my first name?" I interrupted him, watching his steps falter when he turned around to look at me. He slowed down to walk by my side, looking straight ahead while I tilted my head upwards to look at his tanned face.

"I don't know what you mean…" He said, but his red eyes told a different story. I waited for him to answer me, letting him decide whether if he wanted to tell me or not. After stumbling forward from not paying attention to where we were going, I focused my gaze on the white, marble flooring, sighing when he didn't give me his answer.

We continued down the long corridors, passing many servants and doors. I wasn't sure where we were going, but when we approached a flight of stairs, I became nervous. Dark traveled down them quickly, but I stayed behind, slowly climbing down each step as my legs shook with pain. The red dress I was wearing didn't help me at all, because the frills and ruffles on the bottom of the fabric shielded my view of the steps below me.

I gripped the railing, calling out to the king for him to wait for me. He watched me for a moment before walking up the stairs, taking two at a time as he held his hand out for me to take. For once, I didn't reject his touch, allowing him to steady me as we traveled to the second floor of the castle. The moment my feet hit the ground, he released his hold on me, already prepared to let me walk on my own as I had done so many times before…

He continued talking to me as our unremitting walk drew on , explaining the historical background of each painting, artifact, etc. we passed. It was fascinating to look at the different culture of this world, but one thing caught my eye… An upright piano sat idly in an open room to our left, pushed against the wall. Dust was beginning to collect upon its black surface.

My mind fluttered back to my mother as my heart ached to play once more. We had a grand piano back at home, but I had heard from others that an upright piano provided a sound so much finer and genuine than that of a grand…

I stared at it until I could no longer see it, moving with Dark as we took a left into a white, wooden door. Bookcases lined all four walls along with several tables and chairs sitting in the center of the room. A familiar, old woman stood with her arms resting on the table. I didn't realize who she was until she smiled gently in my direction… she was the one who had viewed me and acted as a minister all those days ago… She stood by a table decorated with several open books, chastising the king for being late. Dark shook his head at the woman, turning toward me to talk…

"I thought it would be best for you to start learning our language, and since Patricia, my consultant, is the only other person who knows how to speak Hylian with ease, she will teach you." He said, pulling out a chair for me.

"Are you going to stay?" I asked. He was the only person who I really knew in this place…it was sort of scary to be left alone; however, I felt as though this woman, Patricia, was trustworthy.

Dark smirked at me, flashing his white teeth. "As glad as I am to hear that you are requesting my presence, I can't. I have fallen far behind with my duties, and I need to get to work on them." I stared at him with a blank expression, my heart quickening its pace for a moment as I looked on at his handsome face. I passed my strange feelings on as shallow sentiments, turning away afterward to avoid making things uncomfortable.

"Oh, you halfwit! Quit bugging the girl and go!" The consultant waved her arms at Dark as if to shoo him away before sitting down.

"How dare you insult your king…" Dark mumbled, hesitating for a moment before leaving the room.

I sat quietly in my chair, staring at the strange symbols on the papers in front of me. I didn't know what to do or say, so I waited patiently while listening to Patricia mutter, "You say that every time…"

I twiddled my thumbs nervously, unsure of how to act around this woman. Her white hair was no longer covered by the dark veil, giving me a clearer outlook on her. She looked tired, yet pleased with something that I didn't know about. Her thin and wrinkled hands reached out to grab a paper with both Hylian lettering and whatever language they spoke…

_"Je! Lo ty miosto alcatica Leo,"_ She grinned, showing me her yellowing teeth. "Let's start with the Leo alphabet."

* * *

For hours on end, Patricia and I practiced sounding out letters, accents, and words. My background of studying other languages had served me well, giving me experience with the subject. The language they spoke-also known as _Leo_- was strange, but I was glad to know that the vowels only made one sound, unlike the ones in the Hylian language, which could carry up to three different sounds…

We would take breaks every hour, Patricia trying to get me to talk about things that I liked and my family back home. I told her a little about myself, not feeling ready to apprise her about my family just yet…However, she was happy to tell me plenty about her own.

"I think we should end on a good note for today…" She said, collecting the notes and folding papers. I stood from my seat, feeling natural as I grabbed books from the table to help out. I set them on a nearby shelf as she had asked, playing with a strand of my dark hair as I waited for her to finish cleaning up.

We exited the library, Patricia telling me that lunch would be served in a room down the hall. We both walked slowly to our destination, the advisor making small talk in order to prevent any form of awkwardness for me…I was relieved for her efforts…

"We are having pastries and fruit for lunch, and Eliana…I'm telling you; the cooks do such a fine job! The king has quite the sweet tooth, so it has become sort of customary for us to have a little sugar throughout the day; although he won't be eating with us…" She babbled on, my mind catching my name in her sentence.

"Why call me Eliana?" I questioned, turning to the right as we entered into a large reception room. It was the same room that carried the piano which had caught my eye many hours ago…

"Why not?" The woman countered. We both took our seats, sitting across from one another on pairs of white, flower-patterned loveseats. Two women around my age entered the room, placing a tray full of assorted fruits and crusts with jelly in front of us.

"Dar-The king said that I would be relieved of my name…"

"Oh! I apologize for not telling you sooner-I had assumed he had told you himself. At the ceremony, he informed and asked that his people call you by your first name instead of the traditional name, 'Sothiya'. I was surprised to find that the people had accepted it so easily, but I suppose it doesn't matter now…"

The woman dove into a dish of blueberries, eating slowly while I grunted at her answer.

It was…sweet to know that he listened and cared…I think, but he probably only did it to quiet me down from my unstable state at the time.

I grabbed a strawberry off of the large platter of fruit, taking off the leaves before eating it fully. The taste was addicting, and prompted me to eat more while we sat in silence. A newfound appreciation for life filled as my sentience made itself known…

Patricia continued to talk to me, taking over our one-sided conversation with ease. She informed me of my free schedule for the rest of the day; however, I was to be followed and accompanied by a soldier…just in case.

Tomorrow was supposedly a big day. It was customary for the king and his Sothiya to hold a court meeting with society; appealing to the wishes of the Shadow people as they listen to their woes and congratulations. It made me feel anxious at the thought of being presented to thousands of people once more…most likely, they were probably eager to see the Sothiya who had mysteriously hidden herself away.

I was sure that my depression wasn't a secret…it had only been one day since my awakening, but I expected that word had gotten around quickly…

I squeezed my knees with my hands, my knuckles turning white with each passing moment. I noticed that Patricia had stopped talking, and was now focusing her attention on a dark-haired man who was passing by in the hallway. I could tell he was not a peasant, for his clothes were expensive-looking and made of fine cloth. He was tall, but not as tall as Dark, and carried a blade at his hip with confidence. His black hair was pulled back into a braid, and when his red eyes fell upon my blue ones, his lips curled up to reveal the sharp canine teeth that all Shadows seemed to hold as a trait.

"Well, who do we have here? It is a pleasure to meet you, _Eliana_…" His voice sounded sickening sweet as he passed the white pillars that held the ceiling in its place. He greeted Patricia kindly before turning to me, holding his hand out. I expected him to take my hand and kiss it out of politeness, remembering etiquette lessons back home, but he entwined our fingers instead, holding it for a moment before taking a seat next to Patricia.

Perhaps it was their way of showing courtesy? I wasn't sure, but when he repeated the action to the consultant, I relaxed.

"-I thought…were leaving for…World?" Patricia muttered in his ear. I tried to pick up on what she was saying, but her voice was too quiet.

"My-uh-_employer_ is still working on some-um _things_." He said aloud, the woman smacking his leg without fear of retaliation. The two seemed comfortable around one another as if they had known each other for the longest time.

"Shh! Not so loud!" She hissed lowly.

I rose an eyebrow at how obnoxiously loud they were. "Is there a problem?" I hoped that their intentions to hide whatever they were talking about from me were good…

"No, Mathias just doesn't know how to lower his voice is all…Anyway! What brings you here?" Patricia directed her words to the man sitting next to her, ignoring my calculating stare as I tried to decipher her meaning.

"Mira requested that I help her train the younger children in combat, so I was on my way there. We've run a little short on staff lately, so we had to ask Darky if he would come and help." I didn't have to ask to know who "Darky" was…

If he was referring to the King of Shadows with a pet name, then maybe he was a relative or a close friend?

I sat quietly while I listened to the two converse with one another. Lunch was long over, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could sit there staring at my lap. I wanted to explore the castle as much as I could before I would be called for dinner, but I didn't want to be rude. I had learned as a child to be polite; however, it always came naturally to me, so I never worried about it. I felt as though my arrival here in the Dark World has changed me…

"Would you like to come and spectate?" I jerked my head upward, staring at Mathias's red eyes with surprise. Was he talking to me?

"Yes." I said, unsure to what I was agreeing to. Patricia looked pleased with my answer, standing from her chair as she bid us goodbye. I stood from my seat as well, stretching out my sore muscles before looking on at the consultant as I was once again left alone with a stranger. A guard stepped forward from their post at a door several feet away from us, intent on focusing her attention on me, but the elder man waved her off. He told her that I would be fine under his watch. The female guard nodded her head, returning to her post before Mathias waved me along, pushing past peasants and greeting them boisterously. He was much kinder than Dark, and was more childish in a way although he appeared to be older.

"I think you are going to like this…we have a talented group of kids who plan on becoming guards for our palace one day." He said, making small talk as I nodded my head at his words. We were likely going to watch the children train… "How are you feeling, Eliana?"

I sped up my pace to walk by him. "Better."

"Hmm…well, that's great! And-uh-what do you think of your new home?" He asked, leaving me with the impression that he was nervous about something.

Considering that I haven't had a chance to look around, and most of my time here was spent in my bedroom, I answered him truthfully, "I don't know yet…"

"I can show you around if you like. I have lived here nearly all my life, so I know every crook and corner in this place."

"Are you a close friend of the king?" I was very intrigued with this man and his odd relationship with the sovereign…

"You could say…I am his elder brother." Mathias stated, running a hand over the top of his head. I noticed that he liked to click his boots across the floor, showing me that even when his mouth wasn't moving, he was still making noises…

My conclusion was that he was the near opposite of Dark! But one thing confused me the most… "If you are his elder brother, then why is it that you are not king?" It was an innocent question, but the way how Mathias's crimson eyes darkened seemed to tell me otherwise.

"We are not blood related; however, we are bound together magically, allowing us to share our powers and skills with one another, but only with both of our consents…" He said, his dull eyes glancing over at me briefly before returning to the ground in front of him. "You could have been mine, you know…I could have been king."

My eyes widened and my heart pounded faster, watching as his personality fluctuated back to a cheerful one just as quickly as it left. Before we could exit to the outside where the battle grounds were located at the back of the castle-near where I first entered into the Dark World with the King of Shadows-Mathias apologized for his strange behavior, blaming it on his lack of sleep.

I knew he was lying though…I wasn't dumb.

* * *

**A.N.: I know, definitely not my best... Nothing really happened in this chapter AND it was short AND it was late, but I was trying to set the mood for how Eliana is coping with her recovery. Also, Mathias is acting a little strange…hmm, I wonder why? Anyway, thank you all so much for the reviews and your attention; it means so much to me! :)**

**And before anyone starts complaining, that little moment Eliana had with Dark in the library was strictly her admiring him for his good looks. Nothing more and nothing less. I had to get a little something in there so then I've got something to base the first-half of their relationship on.**

_**ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY TO READ!: **_**I am going on vacation next week to Tennessee, so updates will be coming out slower than they already have been…I promise to work on chapters while I'm there, and I plan on bringing my laptop so then I can edit the chapters properly while I am away. I apologize for my slow updates, and I hope you all will understand.  
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	8. Chapter 8

**A.N.: Thank you all so much for your patience! I just got back from vacation and I had to deal with several personal problems, but I am ready to head back into the story! Anyway, I truly appreciate everyone's support to my story (especially IreneT447) and I'm content with knowing that people are reading! Let's get going!**

**Note: For better understanding, the King of Shadows reign continues until he decides to retire or until his son becomes of age.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda.**

* * *

_"...It has been three-hundred years since we have passed the Act of Ambivalence-which states that Shadows will gain an understanding of each other due to the uncanny murders that relate to the well-known fact that when a human dies, so does its equivalent in our world-and we are proud to say that we haven't had any major accidents in all three-hundred years of the law's existence! There was a strange spike in deaths of Factual beings seven years ago (and continues to grow each passing year) however, which is sparking the interest of many theorists on why…_

_The TGU (Trackers Guard United) has reported that a major war has broken out in the Factual World near the location of the Sothiya, endangering our species due to King Phillip Jesuin Isaikin's recent retirement. Our new king, King Link Birmington Isaikin, has left for the Factual World to collect the next Sothiya; however, he has been gone for over ten days now…_

_We now fear the worst has come, but we will give it more time. The TGU refuses to show interest in the matter, declining interviews with our news group. All we know is that a dark force is interfering with the peace in Hyrule, a large nation near the Eastern part of the world, and that the TGU is still deciding whether they should impede or not."_

_~A news clipping translated into Hylian around two-hundred years ago_

* * *

The throne room was elegant and massive compared to the rest of the castle. Four stories tall it was with stain glass windows forming a beautiful light show for everyone to see. The yellow sun sat high in the pink sky along with several dark gray clouds that threatened to unleash its wrath upon the ground, and destroy the graceful presence of the scene.

Two thrones sat at the top of a long staircase, both decorated with red ribbons and equal in size.

Huh...it was sort of surprising, for not even the queen and Princess Zelda had their own ceremonial chair…

I held onto the king's arm as we climbed up the steps, my face showing no emotion. Dark helped me onto the chair, smiling gently in my direction. My heart fluttered lightly against my ribcage at his gesture, but it all felt fake in a way...at least on my part. I could feel this..._influence_ tempting me to return the smile.

The soft, red velvet on the chair felt nice while we waited for the court to begin its session. Before we left the King's Quarters, Dark explained to me that all I had to do was keep my mouth shut, and smile at the crowd as they came group by group to speak their worries from simple matters to major politics.

Although my job required me to do something I had done all my life-smile and try my best to look presentable-I felt nervous and apprehensive with what was about to come.

Minutes passed and I noticed Mathias enter the room along with several women flanked at his side. I could hear Dark groan quietly by my side as his brother led the women and two men who were trailing behind up to the top of the staircase. Each were dressed in fine clothes and wore jewelry that shined brilliantly in the light…

I could tell by the look in their red eyes that they lived a carefree life with no worries or perturbation…I used to be that way.

Mimicking Dark's movements, I clasped hands with the gentlemen and nodded my head at the women. Everyone seemed pleased to be with one another, and the tones in their voice sounded cheerful.

I could understand some of the words they all spoke, but most of it was all a jumble in my brain. My name came up several times in their conversation, and Dark would translate back to me what they were saying.

"_Ise…"_

That meant "thank you" in Leo…

For two hours, we met hundreds of Shadows; Dark translating their words every once in a while for me. Sometimes he would ask me for my opinion on several matters that were brought forward, giving me more insight on what was going on in this world…I was beginning to realize that this place of hierarchy wasn't any different from the one at home; however, there were still many major contrasts between the two...

But back to more important things, most of the time during the court session, I smiled sweetly (a hint of fakeness within it), and stared blankly into the crimson eyes of each person that came to greet us. It was _the stare_, where one would look unfocused at a certain spot, becoming disconnected from her surroundings as she buried herself deeper into the invisible vortex of mentality.

"Staring off into space" was how Dark put it.

I wasn't too sure, but after quite some time, I began to notice something about the crowds of people that lined up in the throne room…each were dressed in silky fabrics, elaborate hats, and make up.

None of the women seemed to have worked a day in their life, and the men all stood with straightened backs; no evidence of pain as it was obvious that younger boys took care of their work for them.

For lack of a better word…poor…where were the _poor_? Not a single poverty-stricken man, woman, or even child had dared to enter the castle before the nobles of the nearby area. I could feel my heart ache slightly for them; I wanted to find a way on how to sympathize with them, but I'd never really been in their position before…

Something had to be done…but it would have to wait. The court holdings would end within the next few minutes, and the people who had waited in line would be sent home to wait until the next court holding which wouldn't take place until the end of Summer.

"_Kila misa tay doi ka…Masa danke shi!_" I focused my attention on a young adult who had pushed his way through the guards, and ran past the long line to climb up the steps. He was dressed in faded, blue pants and a collared shirt with odd patterns sewn across it. He wore no shoes…

"_Teshta miso ikai de suso!_" He gasped out as if he had run for quite sometime. He sprinted up the steps quickly, his undernourished body moving ungracefully to fall in front of Dark. The couple standing in front of us at the throne looked on with disgust; the man sneered while the woman shook her head sadly.

The boy shoved his finger into Dark's face, but before he could do anything else, several guards that were standing behind our chairs came forward to wrap their arms underneath the boy's, dragging him to his feet before bashing the hilts of their swords onto the boy's head.

I looked on with horror as the boy turned his eyes on me, crimson peering deep into my ocean blues with fear. He spoke once more, my name leaving his tongue as Dark commanded the guards to take him away in a foreign tongue. I stood from my chair, but the man beside grabbed my shoulder, shaking his head solemnly.

I watched the young adult squirm in the arms of the guards at the moment that Dark stood from his chair to announce that the court session would be ending a little earlier. The noisy crowd became deafening as they all chatted with one another when exiting the large throne room. I completely forgot about all formalities as I refused to walk at the same level as Dark, moving past him into one of the side doors before he could grab the sleeve of my green dress.

I wasn't angry at him…I understood the reason why he done what he did; the young man looked like he was ready to throw a fist at the king.

I was disturbed the with inequality here in this world… Hyrule took great pride in the freedom it presented to all persons equally. Yes, the rich were given more opportunities due to the money they possessed, but others still had rights that were showcased each day of their lives…

It was yet another difference…

I swiftly climbed up the stairs, passing maids as they reached out to help me when I nearly smacked my face on the marble. I shook my head at them, apologizing and thanking them before finishing my climb. My legs felt numb afterward, and my body was still sore from several days prior. That wouldn't stop me from reaching my destination though.

I needed to talk to Dark about this inequality, but I had to cool myself off first to prevent any sort of confrontation which would lead to hurtful statements and unmeaningful insults.

I was never one to slight a person, nor think poorly of one, but sometimes my mood would get the better of me. There was one thing that could relieve me of my stress; it was the one tactic I had used all of my life…

I sharply turned to the left, entering the reception room with comfort when I saw that no one was inside. Running my fingers over the smooth wood of the upright piano, I pulled out the cushioned bench, and took a seat before memorizing the fine contours of the instrument.

I noticed how much dust had collected over the surface, causing me to wonder why no one had cleaned it in a while. Lifting the fallboard to the upper panel, I stared with wonder at the beauty of the black and white keys, appreciating the sounds it made as I gently scaled the keyboard.

All of my surroundings became invisible, and I didn't notice the servants who had briefly stopped to watch me play a light tune with my right hand. This piano wasn't like the one I had grown accustomed to at home, for the left and middle pedals did not work quite like a grand.

I supposed I could learn how to adjust…

I switched from my easy melody to a more fast-paced song, feeling myself becoming lost in the music as I glided my fingers quickly over the keys. For a moment, I was brought to a past time; my mother's hands joining in with mine to play the base on my left. But I shook my head as they dispersed into thin air, and my hair fell forward to tickle my wrists. I swiftly pulled my hands away, and kept my foot placed on the far right pedal to allow the sounds to reverberate around me.

Quiet murmurs were heard as seconds passed. I turned to my left and found the wandering eyes of many of the servants as they looked on with wonder…

_"The late king was quite the pianist, was he not?"_ One elder woman muttered to another. I continued to play a sad ballad, hearing the lyrics in my mind while I tuned the women out. The song was about the Goddesses I had worshiped, and how our world came to be…The gears in my mind began to turn as I thought about how this realm was created:

_Did the Goddesses create this alternate universe?_

I was never taught about it in school…Simon said it was only a legend, and Malia seemed so…sure of herself about the truth of it all. We were taught the Legend of the Hero of Time, so why not teach us about the Shadow people if they were believed to be a legend as well? I could only come up with one excuse, for the Hero of Time was aided by Princess Zelda. The royal family most likely wanted to show how important they were in the history of Hyrule…

My fingers slowly came to a stop as the song ended. I felt calm, so I decided to end my session there. It felt great to play once more after such a long time, and not a single mistake was made! I wasn't very talented when it came to anything else like dancing or baking or swimming, so it was encouraging to see that my skills in piano playing hadn't diminished over time.

I stood from my seat and sealed the piano keys away until tomorrow where I planned to practice if I had the time. Several young boys blushed when I caught their lingering gaze, several of them turning red as they ran away quickly. Everyone here seemed nervous around my presence, but I wished they weren't. There were four people who talked to me regularly, and that was Dark, Patricia, Mathias, and a female guard who always stood posted outside my door…

I felt alone in this place…

My home-sickness returned once more while I walked down the hall toward the dining room for lunch. It normally visited at least once every two hours, for everything here seemed to remind me of my late family…

* * *

I tried to get along with Dark…

I figured that until I could find a way to return home, I might as well attempt to befriend His Majesty…quite the drastic change from how I wanted our relationship together to be.

I believed it came down to how different we were. It was like we were walking on the same trail, but in opposite directions. The more apart we were, the less we understood one another.

"No, absolutely not."

Now was one of those times.

"It will be for just one day! You can't stay cooped up in this castle all the time." I countered back at his curt reply.

He aimed his intimidating red eyes at my defiant blue ones. "That's not the reason why." I flinched at the tone he was using as we sat at the dining room table in the King's Quarters. We both were perched in our usual spots-him at the head of the table and me to his left-and discussed the matter I had planned to bring up earlier. It was unfair to the rest of the people who couldn't visit the king due to whatever reasons. I decided to arrange a carriage to take me to the nearest village so I could meet the citizens there, for I couldn't let this continue on.

"Then what is the reason?"

There was one big problem though-

"It is too dangerous for you to go alone, and I am too busy to waste my time on something that won't make a difference."

-Dark.

"A king should care for _all_ of his people. It is inequitable for them to be tossed to the side by the one person they can rely on-" I could feel my stomach threatening to climb up my throat when Dark slammed his fist upon the table.

"Do _not_ tell me how to do my job. This is a matter far beyond your comprehension that I have tried to fix for the longest time. Everything that I have done as king was for my people…_Everything_."

For a moment, my heart ached for this man…the look in his scarlet eyes seemed to give away exactly what he was feeling. I began to understand how he felt about his people and the amount of care he placed into his job. As great as it may seem to be living in the lap of luxury, the job of a ruler was a hard one indeed.

"But I do understand, and you don't have to come with me…if you are that worried about my safety, then send soldiers to guide me!" I said. This strange feeling of wanting to help these people just continued to flow through me. I wouldn't-no, _couldn't_ allow this to go on. Everyone has a voice in this world, and they all deserved to be heard.

"You barely even know the Leo language, so how will you communicate with guards when you need something? How will you speak with the people in the village-?" His words froze mid-sentence as several servants entered with massive plates full of assorted sandwiches, meat platters, and vegetables. The king glared at them as they placed the food down, his bad mood transferring to his actions when he waved them away.

"You should be nicer to your servants…" I muttered, watching his jaw clench tightly. I immediately regretted my words when I realized how much of a nagging girl I sounded…What's happening to me? If this were normal circumstances, I would have kept my mouth shut and listened to Dark's commands.

However, this wasn't any normal circumstance. A vision of my old memories passed through my mind as the same sentence seemed to replay itself in my mind over and over:

What's the whole world worth when you've got no one to show it to?

Malia used to reiterate that phrase when I was a naïve child…I now understood what she meant.

"I'm sorry…that was out of my way to say that." I apologized to him, hoping he wouldn't explode at the table. Dark angrily grabbed a sandwich made of turkey and cucco meat and shoved it into his mouth, biting a large chunk before clearing his throat.

"Just as there are monsters in the Factual World, the Dark World contains colossuses that will rip you to shreds in a second if you don't watch your step. Your safety is the single, most important thing to me, and you are as defenseless as a fish out of water. What good would you be to those people if you were dead before you were to arrive?"

A strange feeling coursed through my body once more as I repeated his words in my mind.

_Your safety is the single, most important thing to me..._

Did he really care about me?

No…he cared about the Sothiya…but what if..?

There was that nagging feeling that seemed to never rest in the back of my mind. It had returned once more to remind me of his crimes before my feelings could begin to take over.

He was responsible for the deaths of many innocents and my family. There was no way I could feel _anything_ for a man as cold as him.

"Then teach me how to defend myself! You're pretty good with a sword, right?" I asked hopefully. Dark was silent as he stared at my empty plate, pondering over my words. I seemed to be getting to him…

"...You really want this, don't you?"

"Yes."

A smirk flashed across his face, "I'm not going to teach you swordplay. You're too fragile to carry a sword." His snide comment caused me glare at him. I grabbed a baby carrot from a tray sitting to my right.

"Then teach me this so-called _magic_ your people know. Patricia has mentioned it to me once or twice." I said, feeling brave as I was overcome with an emotion that I had rarely experienced before. I snapped the carrot in half and tossed a piece into my mouth while Dark chuckled deeply.

"Just because you are my wife doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you." He said, watching me lean forward to come face to face with him.

"I would never dream of it, Your Highness."

I left the room to head to the library, feeling victorious as we created a compromise without even mentioning it. If he would teach me how to defend myself, then I could go out and visit the nearest village without his help…

And not only help some of the poverty-bound people, but maybe find a clue on how to get out of this place…

* * *

The crown I wore on my head seemed to become heavier with each passing day of my reign as king. There were so many things I had to catch up on, and my council members were becoming antsy with how far behind I was. There was the immigration settlement problems, inflation, levying of taxes, and so many other things I had to worry about…I was unsure if I would even have the time to train Eliana.

In all honesty, I was sort of humoring the girl to quiet her from her defiant mannerisms, but the look she gave me in her ocean-colored eyes was that of determination and eagerness to get the job done. I was impressed and glad to be blessed with such a strong and independent Sothiya; however, her personality was a double-edged sword. She refused to listen to my commands, and spoke out against me in a rude tone.

I didn't understand how every woman except for her,_ the Sothiya_, would fall on their knees to beg for my courtship. She was shaped in a way where I couldn't change her mind.

It was sort of attractive in a way, but that's just the natural pull I felt for her…At least that's what I thought it was.

I listened to the familiar sound of my boots click against the marble flooring of my home, unconsciously guiding myself to my bedroom as I thought of the many stresses and worries of my life. Mathias was one of those stresses…

He was becoming stranger by the day, and he seemed to be traveling to the Factual World more often than before. Several guards had reported odd murmuring in his room late at night, and it made me worry over his well-being. As annoying and untrustworthy as Mathias could be, he was still my adoptive brother, and I had known him for almost all of my life. He was the only family I had left…

"-Sorry! I wasn't watching where-oh! Your Highness!"

I was bumped out of my thoughts when a teenager rushed into my side, spilling the contents in her arms onto the floor. I grunted as she stumbled backwards, realizing that it was the same peasant girl who had inappropriately tapped my shoulder outside of Eliana's room. The old woman was no longer with her.

"-I truly am sorry, my King-" The girl continued to apologize, collecting the textbooks she was once carrying before. My face was emotionless as I pondered on whether I should punish her for disobeying my orders (to make sure the incident "won't happen again"), or turn away and continue to my chamber.

"_You should be nicer to your servants…"_

I bended down to help collect the books, noticing that they were the rare children's books we kept in the very back of the library. I handed the hardback books over to the girl, watching her face turned to that of surprise as I accepted her apology.

"Where are you taking those books?" I questioned.

The teenager's face turned bright red. "Well, Queen Eliana was asking for something so she could practice our language, so I was ordered to bring these to her room." The girl gestured to the books in her arms.

A genuine smile crossed my face.

I turned away from the peasant girl, leaving her red-faced as I left for my room. Mathias and his antics would have to wait; I was exhausted from the work I had done today, and my weakening state was becoming more and more of a hassle. I couldn't rush things with Eliana though…it was already complicated enough trying to get her to accept me, but I feel like something is holding her back from doing so.

I couldn't do anything about it now, so everything would have to wait until tomorrow.

* * *

**A.N.: I wrote the first part of this chapter on vacation, and jumped between parts throughout the days, so I apologize if it's choppy and difficult to understand. This chapter was meant to help set up and prepare for future chapters, so Eliana will learn how to use the magic that dwells deep within her. It's important that I explain this later because the plot relies on it…**

**I hope you all enjoyed and don't be afraid to leave a comment! I absolutely LOVE reading what everyone has to say, and even if you want to criticize my work, I would appreciate that you do so I can learn about what I should and shouldn't do in the future. Thank you all so much, and I will see you next chapter! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A.N.: Hey guys! Thank you (I seem to be saying this a lot lately) to all of my reviewers, favoriters, followers, and silent readers! My appreciation is overflowing at such a high level that it's over 9000. **

**I had received a review asking me if I had ever attempted/thought about writing in third person, so I've decided to give it a shot and try it out in the first section of this chapter! Hopefully I didn't screw it up, but I guess what's done is done.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda.**

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_"...Studies had shown that although unwilling to learn, Sothiyas were extremely consummate in their magical ability. If taught well by the correct person, their power could flourish to become one of the most extravagant of all Shadows, and prove useful to help others. However, if tossed into the wrong hands before their skills are fully ripened, they could be turned into a weapon used to destroy a large estimate of races between the many worlds in the universe. _

_This presents to us just how powerful these women are; however, it is rarely seen today due to the women's refusal to learn…"_

_~A message from one of the Great Seven to the king's consultant_

* * *

The room was pitch black and uninhabited of any soul except for two. One embodiment was filled with the darkest of all energies and power beyond any manifestations comprehension while the other soul was weary of the other's presence and unsure of placing his trust into the other's hands.

The latter soul spoken of was Mathias, who had contacted the Dark One many times before, discussing their plans for world domination across the many realms of the galaxy. He had first met him in a dream-the Dark One sensing the anguish and jealousy he felt for his brother-and the two had hit it off straight away.

Mathias wanted power. It was as simple as that, but his chances had slowly slipped away when his adoptive father refused to pass the throne on to him. He and his brother were bound magically in a way that Mathias didn't see how it would have made any difference if he were king, but the sick monarch refused to listen…

The Dark One wanted freedom. The Sages had sealed him away to an endless prison full of terrible pain and torture; however, he could feel himself becoming stronger with each day that had passed these last two-hundred years, and the chains that bound him to this realm had weakened. It was only a matter of days now until he would return to his full strength, but an unknown force was attempting to stop him…He was intelligent enough to know it was the reincarnation of the Hero of Time, but he wouldn't fail this time… He had a secret weapon that he had learned of many years ago, but never had the chance to use.

The Sothiya.

The two men had made a deal. The Shadow would grant the Dark One freedom and the Sothiya. In return, he would give him power and the Dark World to control.

There was one problem though.

"What about the Hero and the King of Shadows? The Goddesses will most likely take their side in this battle, and provide them with whatever it takes to stop us." Mathias spoke nervously, wringing his hands together as he listened for a reply.

A disturbing laugh echoed throughout the space. "Those are just minor set backs that should be easy to overcome. With the girl on our side, there will be no doubts. All I need for you to do is separate her from your brother, and then capture her soul and bring it to me. I will take care of the rest."

"Do you promise?" It sounded like a childish question, but how could he trust a man who was notorious for lying?

"_I promise._ I had learned from experience that although the King of Shadows is strong, it is extremely difficult to manipulate his mind and body. The Sothiya though…manipulation is key to victory."

* * *

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" I heard Patricia pound her fist upon my door. With a loud groan, I shoved my face deeper into my pillow as I listened for her to enter my room. It seemed like Dark enjoyed waking me earlier and earlier everyday…

When I realized that she wasn't going to come inside, I threw my covers down my body before proceeding to strip out of my nightgown. My brown hair was still wet from yesterday's bath and stuck to my neck like glue, and my muscles were sore from the merciless orders of physical activity Dark had ordered upon me…

It was Day Three in my basic training of magic today, and I was still not used to the early awakenings. Due to the king's packed schedule, I was to be taught very early in the morning in order to leave the rest of the day open for us both. I had a hard time grasping why our schedule had to be this way, but I was a morning person so I guess it didn't matter…

I took note of the soft pattering of rain against the walls of my room, deciding to dress in a pair of long pants and shirt. I enjoyed that I got to choose my own wardrobe here at the castle, and that no one was to judge me if I looked terrible in the outfit. I had no one to impress, so I normally wore simple, green gowns to honor and recognize the name I had left behind. I also wore red at times, but that depended on the day and whether I felt like listening to Dark complain about the color.

I pulled on a comfortable pair of brown, leather boots before tying my hair back with the green, makeshift ribbon I had created so many days ago with the dress I had first worn in this world. I reached down to touch my toes, and performed several abdominal twists before exiting my room, and greeting the two night guards standing at my doorway. I didn't hear them reply, so I continued on my way to the dining room to grab something quick to eat before my next brutal session…

The halls were void of life (minus the motionless guards standing in front of the King's Chamber), and the only sounds were of my light footfalls and breaths. The maidservants were all most likely in their quarters catching up on some sleep; however, I would sometimes see a few wandering the castle for their next chore. It was nice being alone in such a large corridor for a change… I even did a few, clumsy twirls down the hall to help loosen my joints.

I entered the dining room, and found several mounds of pastries on the white cloth of the table. I glanced through each group, finding the same thing as usual, but then I froze when I spotted a glaze-covered object…

"Sweet Farore…" I whispered to myself, grabbing a cinnamon roll off the top of a pile. I pinched off a small piece and sniffed at the bread, enjoying the unique, cinnamon scent it gave off. The bread tasted absolutely amazing! It had been far too long since the last time I had one…

I grabbed another roll off the pile before making my way toward the staircase to climb down with ease. My spirits had been brightened at the taste of my favorite food, and I felt prepared to take on whatever challenges I would be faced with today…

I exited the backdoor to set foot in the massive courtyard located in the back of the castle where my lessons would take place. The rain was no longer falling, but the humidity and wetness of the air left behind evidence of the precipitation. A training room was set up for young guards who were starting out on the basic techniques and for experienced warriors to sharpen their skills. I walked calmly over to the entrance of the training room, appreciating the sights and smells along the way while I finished off my cinnamon roll. This may sound weird, but the smells of rain and freshly cut grass were my favorite…

As I approached the door, I noticed that a small, slightly wet note was attached to the wood…it was written in large, elegant cursive that I easily recognized to be Dark's handwriting.

It was written in Hylian:

_Turn around._

"You're late." My back became rigid when I felt hot breath on my neck. A sharp object was placed near my throat, but wasn't close enough to touch and harm my skin. The hairs on my arms stood erect when I quickly turned around to find Dark's tall frame in the open, his clothes covered in leaves from where he was hiding in the bushes.

"You should have warned me! You scared me." I stated, my lips naturally forming a pout as I stepped away to avoid contact with the man.

"You have to learn how to sense danger when it is coming." He said, watching me cross my arms defiantly over my chest at his words. As much as I wanted to punch the smirk off his face, I knew it would be rude and inappropriate, for he was right…How would I survive if I couldn't even tell I was in peril?

I was about to open the door to the training room, but a gloved hand was placed upon the wood before I could enter. I gave Dark a questioning look as he hesitated for a moment. He then reached out to grab my hand, but I pulled away before he could, my mind unconsciously reminding me of the bloodshed his hands had caused. I wasn't ready to…accept…not yet.

A look of an emotion I couldn't identify crossed his face briefly before he waved me along, guiding me behind the training building to a large maze of hedges. I noticed how his gaze refused to meet my eyes when he realized I still wasn't giving in to him.

"Strength training will be put on hold for now, so we can-" He started off, watching me raise my hand politely as I was taught when I was younger…

"Why? And what are we going to do next?" I questioned.

"I was about to get to that…Strength training hasn't been going as well as I had hoped, so I believe we should switch over to something that you will most likely excel at…magic."

I sheepishly looked away, remembering how terrible I was at every physical challenge I was given. My daily exercise back at home consisted of walking about a quarter of a mile a day to reach my friend's house, so my stamina was lacking greatly. Also, I wasn't the largest of girls, and I inherited my mother's thin and small stature, so my strength was just as atrocious.

"-Sothiyas have been known to make great sorceresses…I was told that my mother was one of the greatest of all time, but that was a long time ago." He said, his scarlet eyes glazing over for a moment as his mind flew to a past time.

"...I'm sorry." I muttered, feeling his pain as I understood how he felt.

"No! It's fine, I never really knew her anyway." He smiled in an attempt to play it off before switching the subject back to what my next task would be. I was to hide in the maze from Dark; however, if I was caught within ten minutes of the start, I would have to start over. It sounded easy to me at first, but the catch was that Dark could sense my life force using the special bond he had placed on my forehead that connected us together. My job was to use my magic to shield my life force from him so he couldn't sense me.

"Let's practice it first." Dark suggested, asking me to hold out my hand. I watched with amazement as Dark summoned a ball of energy into his left palm, the warmth of the ball spreading throughout me in waves. "This is my life force."

It was roughly the size of a large apple, engulfing his palm entirely. The color was a warm, orange-red that reminded me of the sun, and fanned out in waves as I could feel the power of it flourish through me. For a few moments, I stood still in my spot as I bathed in the glow, but as time passed, the feeling began to disappear slowly until there was nothing left.

The ball of energy was still in his palm, but I could no longer feel the warmth it emitted…

"As you summon your life force, you will feel as if the energy is attempting to fly away from your body. You must reign it back in, _settle it_…quiet its needs by keeping it hidden deep within." He said, allowing the energy to dissipate from his palm. I didn't understand what he meant, but I figured I would give it an attempt.

"How do I 'summon' it?" I asked with uncertainty.

"Dig deep into your soul, and search your mind for the energy source. Direct your focus into the body part you wish it to flow through." He said, stepping away to give me some room. I did as he told, and searched throughout me as I stuck my tongue out in concentration. I closed my eyes tightly as I imagined the energy flowing to my palm, and took several deep breaths.

I opened one eye slowly, staring down at my hand with anticipation. My mouth slightly fell open at the sight…

"Nothing happened." I stated bluntly, looking at Dark for further instruction. He stood with his mouth hung open like the hinges on his jaw had fallen off. I then became doubtful of what was to come next, watching him carefully.

"Do that again!" He said quickly, grabbing my wrist tightly. I almost pulled away from his hasty movements, but did as I was told, closing my eyes once more to focus.

A warm hand was placed upon my forehead, moving the bangs away from my eyes as I opened them. The familiar burning sensation of my mark became present; however, it was now more immense and painful.

"Look!" Dark said, pointing around us, "I am very impressed with your efforts!"

A light blue aura surrounded us as I gasped quickly, watching it fade away when I lost my concentration. A twinkle fell in Dark's eyes as he stared into my bluish-green ones, grinning happily at my so-called accomplishment.

To be honest, I had no idea what I had just done.

"For someone who has _never_ used sorcery before, you are great at it! I was beginning to have my doubts when you couldn't even lift a sword, but wow…I suppose what I'm saying is: you may be the weakest Sothiya, but your life force is the strongest!"

I couldn't help the smile that crossed my face when Dark (sort of) complimented me. I had never seen him so happy, let alone it have something to do with me. As I had said before, I wasn't talented in many things, but I seemed to excel at the ones I was good at.

"So, what happened?" I asked. I figured it was something great, but I was unsure of what I had done.

"Sorcerers are classified into two categories: Defensive and Offensive. You can tell what kind you are based on the color and size of your life force. Offensive sorcerers have small, orbs that can be held in the palm of their hand, and are the most common among our people. It is said that the more vibrant the color, the more fierce of a warrior the person will be. I am an Offensive, so I sort of expected you would be as well…"

I nodded, taking all the information in. "And what about Defensive?"

"I will use Mathias as an example since he is a Defensive…The life force of a Defensive sorcerer is larger than that of an Offensive, but not stronger. The life force is presented as a 'shield' of sorts, surrounding the host with a thin curtain. Mathias's lifeforce is large enough to shield only his own body, and is a dark blue color to represent he is more of a fighter. Yours, though…Your lifeforce is so large, it could probably reach the training room if you tried hard enough! The light blue color you saw shows that you're more of a protector to others than a fighter." Dark explained.

The details he gave me were slightly confusing, leading me to ask Dark to repeat them multiple times as I became interested in their culture of magic. According to him, on a scale of strength, I was the weakest of all types; however, I was skilled in defense…He then began to go on about elemental specialties, but said those were extremely rare and only few contained the ability to control components such as water, fire, or earth.

I found myself smiling at what he was telling me, embracing his compliments as I noticed the change in his attitude. He truly seemed to enjoy my company, and no longer treated me as a possession to be gained, but as an equal…

I supposed this was a confession…but a confession to what? I didn't like him for his actions, and the way how he expressed his thoughts with a tough, outer shell around them. I truly respected him as a person though, and for his devotion to his people.

Time had passed, and soon enough I had no more questions. My mind flitted back to the book I had read about the Shadow People a while back… I was kind of using it as a reference, but the more time I spent here, the more I thought that Leonardo the Wise's words were false. I understood that he based his findings from past records, but the belief that _all_ Shadows were cruel was incorrect. _Everyone_ has their flaws, no matter how perfect they may seem. That doesn't mean they are just as Leonardo had explained them to be though.

"-Use your shield to hide your life force, ok?" I nodded my head, becoming unsure about my abilities. I knew how to activate it, but could I conceal it? I walked into the maze of hedges, gasping at the tallness of each bush. We had something like this back at home, but it was nowhere near as large as this!

I quickened my pace, knowing that Dark would come looking for me in a minute. A few raindrops fell onto my arms and face, yet it only drove me to move faster as I tried to get as far away as possible from my seeker…

This feeling…the situation I was in made me feel exhilarated. It felt childish in a way to be playing a type of "hide-and-go-seek" game, but I felt _free_. Free from studying and training and life. I could run on forever if I wanted to; nevertheless, I needed to find a hiding spot, and I wasn't too sure how much more my tiny lungs could take.

I found an opening in the maze where many statues sat facing my direction. I found cover between two of the displays and closed my eyes, emptying my mind of any stray thoughts. I focused on the energy in my body, and directed it to the palm of my hand as I had done before, praying that I wouldn't fail when I needed it most. It felt as though the energy was trying to fly away from my body. I refused to open my eyes, for I was worried I would become distracted with my surroundings…

I waited for several minutes, and made sure not to break my focus… Apparently, I must had done a good job…

"Boo."

I jumped up from my position, and opened my eyelids in surprise. A light blue aura faded away from sight as I began to notice the extreme burning sensation in my forehead. Throwing my arms up, I turned around in preparation for the "Speech of Disapproval"... Malia invented that name when she heard Octavius, my advisor back at home, chastise me for doing something incorrectly…

"OW!" Dark yelled loudly, clutching his nose as I shrunk away from him.

"I'm sorry!" I quickly apologized, asking him to move his hands so I could look at his nose. I must had hit it in the right spot because blood was oozing out, and running fast due to the rain pounding on our heads…

Dark slowly moved his hands away as I examined the damage I had caused, making a slight pout as I began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" He demanded in a serious tone, causing me to laugh even harder.

"N-nothing, nothing…Just, how did I do?" I snorted loudly, watching as Dark returned his hands to his face.

"Terrible. I could sense you from a mile away." He stared at my silly face for a while, watching as my mouth slowly changed from a grin to a smile. A small smirk formed on his angular visage, flashing me his white teeth as he joined in with my goofy smile.

Boy, we must had looked ridiculous standing out in the rain just smiling at each other like oddballs.

However, I didn't care.

I hadn't had a good laugh in quite some time.

Staring at his tall stature, I suggested that we head back inside to dry off and take care of his nose before continuing our session tomorrow. I had some studying to do along with my attendance to a comedy show here in the castle as requested by the Kullin family, and Dark would be busy with many important matters he had fallen behind on.

The king offered me his hand to hold, but I refused once more as he guided me through the maze. It was different this time though… I actually_ wanted_ to walk hand in hand with this man…

My mind flitted back to Leonardo's _Legends of the Past: the Shadow People_… He had spoken of "the Pull" that the King of Shadows and his Sothiya have for each other…

At least he was right about one thing.

* * *

**A.N.: GAH! *Rubs at eyes* So…much…STUFF. School has started back up for me, so I'll try my best to get chapters out as soon as I can! I don't want to make excuses, but I will anyway…I am taking 5 weighted classes this year that require TONS of memorization, so if I start writing about Anatomy and 600 B.C. I apologize. This chapter contained more information about the magical culture of the Shadow People that will play a huge part in the future, so I hope I kind of made sense. I'm a little too busy at the moment to proof-read the chapter, so I will get to that later on and clean it up, but for now, I'm just going to post this…**

**Don't be mad! I already hate myself enough because I didn't give 110% on this chapter…Anyway, if you want…there is this little box down below…if you could-uh-write a little something-something in it for me? *Winks obnoxiously* See ya guys later! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**A.N.: I have received many requests over the weeks about giving out more description of Eliana (as in height, weight, age, etc.), so being the talented artist that I am (insert sarcasm here), I created a profile for Eliana on Deviantart under the name of Kaleeco! If you are interested or looking for a better look on Eliana, go and check it out! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda.**

* * *

"_...He failed…How could one of the most robust and powerful beings of all the realms lose to a mere mortal! The King of Shadows has proven to be of no use to me, so I collected nearly all of his power and left him with enough so he could drag himself back to the dump of a land he came from. Hopefully, he will serve well as a warning to others…If worst comes to worst, I will have to stop the child myself…but I've heard many things of even a greater source of power I could tap._

_This...Sothiya...he spoke about. He or she sounded important…**powerful**, even. I will have to look into it in the future, but that is insignificant at the moment._

_I'm relying on you to stop the boy from disrupting our plans. Do whatever it takes to keep him away from the desert._

_~The King of Evil, Ganondorf, to his surrogate mothers_

* * *

My life here in the castle was never the same routine I had experienced back at home. Everyday held new activities and things for me to do, and experiences that I had never imagined to be given. My learning of the Leo language was now starting to pick up, and I could now speak full sentences, though they were slow and choppy. Patricia was very pleased with my efforts, and stated that I should be able to pick up on more things on my own. Her services were no longer needed…

I owed much to that woman…it wasn't because she would always take my side every time Dark and I debated, nor was it because she always found time in her day to come and listen to me play on the piano. It was because she understood how I felt. The pain that would flash through my face at the thought of my family would never escape her sharp eyes, and the frown that was always painted on my face as I looked on in deep thought never went unnoticed. She encouraged me to talk about my old life, asking me about things that I liked and disliked. She also wanted to hear about Malia and my father and Octavius…

It helped to talk about them… It was my therapy, in a way.

Although Patricia was very helpful, I felt as though Dark was another story. My training sessions with him these past few days focused solely on my ability to shield my life force from enemies. I'd been working on it for what felt like quite some time, yet it didn't seem to come as easily to me as several other things I had been taught, like changing my appearance or levitation. Dark could tell I was getting frustrated with this notion, but he would always calm me before I could fall over the edge of vexation. He seemed to have a knack for catching on to my emotions, for if something was bothering me, he would ask me about what was wrong and if he could help in any way…

And I_ hated_ it.

I wasn't one to use the word _hate_ freely, but Dark easily overcame that perception. I could feel things changing between us, and it was in the way that I wished to have never happened. He was kinder to the people around him, using foreign words such as "thank you" and "please", and he seemed to smile more often in my direction.

Goddesses, my heart was beating faster at the thought of it…

But this was wrong…so _very_ wrong! I could never…

Even if he was a changed man, his wrong doings are just too prominent in my thoughts to allow me to give in to temptation. I had to stop this as soon as possible…before it was too late. I needed to find a way on how to get out of here quickly.

"Miss Eliana." I froze in my tracks on my way to the reception room where I knew the piano would be waiting for me. I had just finished lunch with Dark and a few guests from a noble house hundreds of miles away. They had traveled many days to come and visit us, so they would be staying with us for the night before their departure in the morning.

The voice who had stopped me spoke again, sounding as though he wanted to start a conversation. It was a man of one score and eight years of age, accompanied by no one as he approached me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the guard's, Sariah, edge forward slightly as he placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Please do remember that I am married, Sir Anthony. Just call me Eliana." I corrected his mistake of my title, hoping he would accept my kind gesture and move along on his way. I slowly shrugged his hand off, attempting a smile but failing when he returned the limb to my shoulder once more.

"My apologies, my queen, for where I come from, formalities aren't as important. Miss Coraline understands, so I figured you would as well…" He said. It took me a few moments to translate his words in my head before thinking of a way on how to answer. Coraline was his eighteen-year-old fiancée, and she was very shy around us. I talked to her a little after lunch; however, most of her responses consisted of one-worded acknowledgements…

"..." I decided to not respond as I let Anthony guide me down the hall and past the reception room. We slowly came to a stop before the entrance to the library, and the man by my side took several steps forward to stand in front of me.

He quickly placed his hands on my shoulders. "I don't have much time…but I have a favor to ask of you." He said with haste, trying to hold eye contact with me when I turned my head away.

"I would feel more comfortable if you would move your hands away from me…I'll listen after you do as I ask." I said, my voice cracking as I attempted to show him my authority… I could tell I didn't sound very convincing and that I had used incorrect conjugations, for Anthony looked on at me with raised eyebrows. I tried moving his hands again, and he stepped away in understanding.

"Well…um-I…" He started off, wringing his fingers together, "Coraline and I have been together for two years now, and now that she is of legal age…I wish to marry her as soon as we return to Pilate."

I nodded my head at his words. "And what do you want me to do?"

"She's been acting…different lately. I've discussed with her about setting up a location for the ceremony and who she would like to invite, but all she does is shrug her shoulders and stare out the window quietly… Since you're a woman, I believe you could talk to her, and perhaps bring her out of this empty state." He gestured to the library, adding on that Coraline was currently looking through our selection.

I stared at the door for several moments, contemplating whether I should go in or not. I barely knew these people, so why did I feel entitled to helping them? I wasn't sure if it was because of my personality or the morals I had been taught, but I knew for sure that I could relate to this girl.

I knew Coraline wasn't with him because she wanted to be.

"Ok." I answered his unvoiced question.

A look of relief crossed the man's face as he thanked me before announcing where he would be staying for the next hours. I entered the library.

"Hello?" I called out, stepping into the familiar area to find the room empty. I walked forward to search through the many aisles of books, becoming worried when there was no sign of Coraline. By the time I reached the last row, I found her sitting unceremoniously with her legs crossed on the floor. A children's book sat in her hands.

I went over to Coraline, waiting for her to acknowledge my presence. When she didn't look up from her book, I sat down next to her. I tried to look at her face, but her short, blond hair covered her red eyes.

"Do you like _Lucy and the Pigs_?" I asked in poor Leo, internally smacking my forehead at how dumb I sounded. The younger girl glanced up to look at me for a moment, smiling sympathetically at my poor attempts to start a conversation.

"I know how to speak Hylian." She said, turning her gaze back on to the book. Her crimson eyes seemed blank…

"Oh…" I haven't met anyone who knew how to speak my language outside of the castle…it was refreshing to be able to communicate easily with someone different instead of the same two people as usual. "Where did you learn to speak Hylian?"

"..." She paused for a moment, folding the book closed in her hands, "a friend."

I nodded my head, staring at Coraline out of the corner of my eye. She had a rough accent, but I was thankful nonetheless that I wouldn't have to struggle to find the correct words.

We sat in silence, our thoughts consuming one another as we enjoyed each other's presence, and communicated without speaking.. I had originally expected arrogance from this girl, a haughtiness that would be explained by the fancy riches and jewelry she had as I had seen in many other women, but I was wrong.

She was a pensive and shy girl whose eyes spoke more than her mouth. Even without the presence of others, her humbleness would show although she was a beautiful, young girl.

In the light of this girl, I felt small compared to her, and believed her innocence had yet to be tainted by that man she was precariously holding on to… My pureness had been destroyed the moment I had watched a friend of mine die in his own pool of blood on the streets of Castletown.

"Did Sir Anthony send you here?" Coraline's light voice called out to me. I turned to look at her, but she refused to meet my gaze. She seemed…saddened.

"Yes." I wasn't going to lie to her, but the look that occupied her pale face seemed to destroy my heart in an instance. I could tell she didn't love him, and my relation to the situation she was in was greater than what she and I could ever imagine together.

I believed her youth was what bothered me the most… There were so many things left for her to experience in life before marriage, but she was being rushed into forgetting about them. I was unsure if Anthony loved this girl or not, but I was intelligent enough to tell that their binding will be unmeaningful on Coraline's part.

"I'm surprised to see you here." Coraline whispered. Sharp exhales escaped her nose as if she were laughing…

"Why?"

"Most people don't care."

I watched as she fiddled with the hem of her purple skirt, her small fingers grazing the lace gently as if she were afraid it would tear. "I don't understand what you mean..?"

"You don't have to understand." She promptly replied. A sign of sincere longing settled in her eyes as the truth in her words rang through my ears. Just the fact that I was there for her well-being was good enough for her to appreciate.

A long silence engulfed us as we both idly flipped through the pages of the book she was holding. If I could remember correctly, the story was about a girl who worked in a pig's pen for all her life. Everyday consisted of the same thing as she grew up with the pigs, and nothing ceased to end as life moved on. She grew very close to her pigs, and was content with knowing that her life was bound with the mammals.

At one point, a great famine crossed her country, and her local town was in need of food… The mayor asked her to sacrifice her pigs for the people, so she told him to give her some time to think about it. Figuring that if she were to help, everyone would want to be her friend and she wouldn't have to hang out with the pigs for the rest of her life. The girl agreed to give up her pigs, and when summer arrived, the people were blessed with many crops. The famine had ended.

In the end, everyone treasured the girl dearly because of the wonder she had done for them, and the girl became excited for what was to come in this new life; however, after several months had passed, everyone forgot about her good deeds and began to ignore her as they did before the famine. Her long time friends, the pigs, were no longer there to cheer her up, so she lived a life of mourning because of the poor choice she had made.

I've had mixed feelings about the moral of the story, for the message was supposed to be: "never trade your friends in for fame and fortune." It was confusing though, for what about the people of her town? If she had decided to be selfish, and keep her pigs, the townsmen would have died…but why should she care for the people if they never cared for her in the first place?

I was looking into this too much…

"But…" I turned to Coraline when I heard her accent, watching as she smiled before continuing on, "do you want to understand?"

That was the main reason why I was here…so why not?

"My name is Coraline Wellings, daughter of Winston and Marie. My father was a servant to the Bishop family as well as my mother."

I listened quietly as she told her story, and how Anthony had caught sight of her many years ago. She wasn't as interested in him as he was in her, but what choice did she have?

"...Anthony Bishop and I had been together for quite sometime, and he was ready for marriage, but I was seventeen then…"

"There is someone else isn't there?"

Coraline gave me an exasperated look as I fiercely returned her gaze. She didn't have to continue her explanation, for I saw this coming from a mile away…she loved someone else.

And I didn't blame her for it either.

"His name is Miles."

"...And you are carrying his child, yes?"

I would like to say the children's book was a dead giveaway, but it wasn't. The tension and edginess she displayed around Anthony was enough to give me an idea.

"I don't know, to be honest. I had been with Miles only once though, and Anthony many times…two weeks ago was the first time I had began to 'experience' the symptoms." She sighed. I was now beginning to marvel at how much this timid and anxious girl had opened up to me. The innocence I once saw was now beginning to dissipate as an age-old, worried expression crossed her face. Lowering her head, blond strands of hair covered her eyes as they teared up…

Although this would have been a simple question, I didn't want to ask about how often she had slept with the men…if it were me, I would have felt degraded, so I stuck with a more virtuous inquiry.

"Where is Miles, Coraline?" I asked softly, brushing her hair behind her ear just like Malia would when I was sad.

"He lives on the border of Hyrule and Juno." I was taken aback by her words when I realized that she was referring to the places in the Factual World-one of them being my home. I now understood why she was able to speak Hylian.

"You have to tell him, you know…and by him, I mean both." I stated, feeling her lean her head onto my shoulder as her tears soaked my clothes. I wrapped my arm around this stranger of a girl, feeling as though I had known her for many years and not two hours.

"Queen Eliana…why are you so kind to me? I had committed a terrible crime of unfaithfulness…yet you still treat me benevolently?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Love makes you do crazy things…and you don't have to call me 'Queen'; it just sounds too pretentious for me…" I felt Coraline pull away from my shoulder to give me a questioning look. She was bewildered with my words:

"I speak some Hylian, but I don't know what you mean?"

"I'm saying that my title gives me greater importance than what I really am. I'm just as normal as you are and Miles and every other person alive… We all make mistakes, breathe the same air, and walk the same path; so I am no more significant than any other."

Coraline stood from her spot, and placed the book back in its place on the shelf. I stood as well, brushing the dust off my dark red skirt carefully. Coraline lead me to the door at the front of the large library, taking deep breaths as she prepared to leave the room.

As she reached the exit, Coraline turned to me. "You have given me a new outlook on life with your advice, and I now understand that I can't just hide from my mistakes. I shall talk to Sir Anthony after we depart for Pilate, and tell him of my relationship with Miles."

I smiled in approval as she voiced her plans, happy with my success in cheering her up. We exited the library to head to the reception room to chat some more, agreeing that sitting on a couch would be more formal than sitting on the dirty floor surrounded by old books. Coraline even agreed to listen to me play, and wanted to learn a few things on the piano.

"If there is anything I can do for you, Eliana, just ask."

My thoughts fell back to my training, and where I wanted to go, "Well, there is one thing… "

* * *

I was becoming weaker. I could feel it.

I was having a hard time teaching Eliana because of it… I couldn't even perform half of the skills I knew because the one month mark was coming closer. Eliana wasn't even close to being ready to travel to the nearest village which was about thirty miles away… I couldn't go with her, and I didn't want to risk endangering her well-being; however, she would most likely have a cow if I told her she couldn't go until after my strength had returned, and I knew that wasn't going to happen until after I had an heir to receive the throne…

That wasn't the only thing changing with us. The Pull had grown ever so stronger between us due to our lack of a romantic relationship-sensing our lack of bonding-but I was afraid it had only been affecting me. I was now starting to feel this strange need to always be by her side, and I often caught myself thinking of her when I was bored, kind of like now.

If Eliana was beginning to feel the same way, she was hiding it _very_ well.

I exhaled deeply before running my fingers through my hair, feeling uncomfortable as I shifted around in my seat. I wish I had my travel attire with me. I hated wearing the ridiculous robes the King of Shadows was required to wear in the presence of guests. I felt more comfortable in my chainmail to be honest.

I glanced out the window of my study, wondering what Eliana was up to at the moment. Patricia told me she normally spent a lot of her time in the reception room on the second floor, but never said what she occupied herself with in the room. I hadn't gone downstairs since our last court session on the first floor, so I felt curious as to what she did.

I planned on adventuring downstairs a little while later, but for now, I had several things to order and arrange with Sir Anthony Bishop.

"-she's with Coraline." He said, nervousness coating his voice. I turned to Sariah, one of the oldest guards we have here at the castle, for clarification. The woman nodded her head in confirmation that Eliana was somewhere with Bishop's fiancée.

"You do understand that there are consequences to holding a woman, the Sothiya to be more exact, in an inappropriate way, correct?" I spoke with my head tilted upwards, standing from my chair swiftly. It was important to show authority over this man; my father had taught me to scare them with your power, but never punish them wrongly. A warning was all that was necessary.

"I apologize, Your Highness! I was asking the Sothiya for a favor, yet she seemed scared of what it was, and I didn't want her running from me!" He said, tilting his head upwards to hold my gaze as I stepped forward. I could hear Sariah scoff at his words, muttering how he clearly gave the wrong idea to the girl.

"What was the favor you asked?"

"...my fiancée has been feeling depressed lately, so I was hoping the queen could help." Sariah nearly bursted with laughter, claiming that she had never seen a man unable to keep his wife happy. I glared at the woman, hushing her immediately as I gave her the signal to leave the room. Sariah swiftly bowed, placed her helmet upon her red hair, and left without another word.

"Your relationship with your wife is none of our concern. Do well to remember that. I will let your mistake slide, but please come to me before involving my Sothiya in any unwanted drama…that should be kept between a man and a woman; no one else."

The Bishop sighed with relief, claiming he was going to go check on the two, "Thank you."

I could feel a migraine coming on. "Until dinner."

* * *

Dinner came and ended quickly, Coraline's chatter consuming most of the conversation as Anthony smiled with approval. I could tell he was pleased with my job well done, and even thanked me for my efforts before dinner started…I was happy that I could have helped.

However, I was hoping that my helpfulness would be enough for him, for I had asked Coraline a favor in return. If she and her husband could take me to the nearest village on their way home, we would both be even and they would no longer be indebted to me.

All we needed was the consent from two men.

Anthony wouldn't be a problem, but Dark? I could only hope for the best…

"We shall be the first ones to turn in…We've a long journey ahead of us, so we will see you in the morning." Anthony said, bowing as he and Coraline stood from their chairs at the opposite side of our table. They left to head downstairs toward the guest rooms, their chatter echoing down the hall.

Silence fell upon Dark and I as I stared at our empty plates. I twiddled my thumbs out of anxiousness, building up the courage to speak my mind…I could feel his heated gaze on me, so I took a deep breath, and met him face to face.

I could see a small smile placed on his handsome visage, almost taunting me without the owner even knowing it. I looked deep into his red eyes, finding myself no longer afraid of its foreboding color, but entranced…

"What is it?" His deep voice came out smoothly.

How was I going to pull this one off?

"I think I'm ready," I said. A deep blush crossed Dark's face as he began to stutter, the confidence in his personality faltering.

_"_Oh…well, maybe not now… Could you wait until our guests leave-?"

_Oh Goddesses!_ "Wait! Nonononono! That's not at all what I meant!" I nearly shouted, embarrassed by how unclear I was. I was sure my face was even redder than his! "I meant with my training."

A sigh that almost sounded disappointed escaped his lips as the mood changed from a light tone to a darker one. "Training?"

Here it comes, "Yes, Coraline has offered to take me to a nearby village known as Kawt, and now that I understand your language-"

"No."

"..." I refused to meet Dark's gaze as I prepared for the obvious chastising that was about to come… I should have never asked…

"Eliana, I know what you're thinking, and I agree! You are advancing very well in your communications skills, but you still need more training. Didn't you hear how Sir Bishop said they were nearly torn apart by a demon near the central valley? That is very close to here! I can't risk-"

"-can't risk what? Losing me? Because I'm the 'Sothiya?'" I rose my hands into the air, making quotation marks as I angrily spoke, "I am not as weak as you make me out to be!"

"You don't have to yell. We have guests residing downstairs not too far-" He spoke, watching me as I abruptly stood from my spot, knocking my chair backwards.

"They'll be fine, quit trying to change the subject! I can't stay here any longer Dark. Those people need me as much as I need them, so I wish to go with Coraline and Anthony tomorrow morning. I may be just some baby-making machine to you, but to those people, I'm so much more!"

"Quit deluding yourself! I'm worried you're going to go out and do something stupid to hurt yourself…You're not ready, Eliana. I understand exactly how you felt-"

A chord was struck when I watched Dark stand from his chair, forcing me to look up as he stepped closer. I felt like this conversation was starting to take a turn down the wrong path, and was beginning to morph into something new…

_He knew how I** felt**? He wasn't talking about now, but something different, wasn't he?_

"But you don't know how _I_ feel! That's the thing! You don't know how it feels to watch the people you love die! You don't know how it feels-and yes _Patricia told me_-to have your mind practically infiltrated by a stranger _without_ your permission! You don't know how it feels to be taken away from everything you know, and thrown into a world where you can't talk to a single person, except for the same guy who killed your family!"

Dark rose an eyebrow, seeming unmoved by my words. "Now you are trying to change the subject... You were unconscious anyways! What else was I supposed to do?! And if you were referring to me, I do not recall _ever_ murdering your family?"

"You did though! Don't even try to convince me otherwise! You murdered them...all because of some sick 'ritual' your people perform!"

That struck a nerve as I watched his nostrils flare in anger. Honestly, I wanted him to be mad...I wanted him to feel my pain. His skin began to change from its golden glow to a black charcoal, but returned to a more grayish color. His ruby-red eyes burned bright with hatred as I practically insulted his people.

"I never wanted this!" He yelled, running his fingers through his silver hair roughly as he continued, "Do you sincerely believe it was my plan to just take some little girl away from her home, and force her into submission after I was faced with the army of Hyrule?!" I watched him with wide eyes, my argument faltering on my tongue. No…he was just trying to throw me off…

"You didn't have to kill them! For the Goddesses' sake, you could have negotiated with them!"

"Oh, and they easily would have agreed to hand you over? No matter what you say, I can't change it and neither can you. It's just who I am, and nothing can be done about it!"

His words made no sense in my mind. My anger blinded my thoughts as I focused solely down the path of my fury. Everything I had held in flooded out as if a dam had been destroyed; there was no stopping what would come out of my mouth.

"You can change it though! You did, and I hate it! I absolutely hate it!" I could feel tears pressing at the corners of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall…not in front of him anyway.

"Quit speaking with such cryptic words."

"The fact that I care for you doesn't change anything…I can't take this anymore." I said, spinning on my heel to head toward my room. I was dead set on leaving now, deciding to inform Coraline and Anthony that I would like to leave as early as possible in the morning…without Dark's knowing of course.

Dark sounded startled when he spoke, "Where do you think you're going? Come back here!"

I can't believe I even liked him…

"You can't tell me what to do!" I could hear his quick footsteps as he followed after me, his longer legs easily covering more ground.

"As my Sothiya, I command you to turn around and come here!"

I opened the door to my room, turning to see Dark standing in the middle of the hallway, an undefinable expression on his face. "No."

I glared at his lean form before slamming my door shut, not caring what I looked like to the frightened servants passing by and the worried guards. I could hear Patricia, who happened to be passing by, telling Dark to "let it go" in Leo before commanding the servants to do something else; however, I couldn't understand.

An enraged cry flew through the walls as angry stomps marched down the hall; most likely to the King's Study.

Patricia gently knocked on my door, asking if she could come in, but I asked her to wait until morning.

I wasn't sure if I could tell her goodbye without crying. My heart couldn't take anymore of this…I just wanted to go home.

I was leaving tomorrow morning, and no one was going to stop me.

Not even him.

* * *

**A.N.: Yay! Another chapter done! I'm pretty sure you all already know what I'm going to say, but I'll say it anyway because I want to: Thank you. Everyone's support has been my power source for writing, so I hope we can continue this story together until the end. We will soon be reaching the halfway point, but I'm unsure with what I want to do with several of the characters I had created, so I guess we will find out. I'll see you guys next chapter! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**A.N.: Finally! I finished it! I do apologize for the long wait, but things have been quite hectic lately… Anyway, thank you all so much for sticking with me for so long! I don't want to continue making excuses, so let's get on with the story!**

* * *

"_Taking many deep breaths, the girl gave her freedom away for happiness, unknowing of the wrongs she was doing. I always thought freedom meant the opportunity to be what you never thought you would be, yet she was giving it away to be something lesser than her dreams…"_

_~An excerpt from a widely known autobiography throughout Hyrule. The writer, Queen Zelda II, writes of her best friend whose name is unknown._

* * *

I stared blankly at the wooden top I was spinning on my desk, becoming lost within each twirl as I grabbed the peg with my thumb and index finger before twisting the two quickly to cause it to spin. The old woman (whose name I couldn't remember) had left it here on accident a while back, yet she didn't come back for it so I assumed it wasn't of any importance to her.

"We are ready for you, Your Highness." I waved off the servant who had entered to inform me of the council meeting, feeling irritable this morning. I spent last night in my study and I hadn't gotten much sleep. Breakfast was extremely boring, and my thoughts have eaten away at my mind for hours on end…

Eliana had refused to come to the dining hall, let alone answer her door when she was called. I didn't blame her for it, but she needed to realize that time was the major factor as to why she couldn't leave the castle…

I stood from my chair to exit the room, stepping outside before taking a deep breath to prepare for an endless three-hour session of the Great Seven chastising me for not having an heir. I took short strides to prolong the amount of time I would have to myself, deciding to take the longest route to the council room on the first floor.

_Does Eliana truly despise me so much?_ I pondered, unwilling to look up as I passed the girl's room, for if I did, I would've stopped walking to ask her to come out. Last night…she made it sound as though I had killed the ones dear to her? I am now beginning to understand how offensive it is to her culture to murder, but how was I supposed to know? It is an accepted idea here in my world-everyone knows what happens when you kill a Factual being…

As a child, I found the notion of killing sort of exhilarating, but now…the main reason I did what I did was more to protect myself from the army of men that wanted to kill me! I spared her father's life, but that wouldn't stop her imagination…

I believe the one true thing I regretted was causing the premature death of the child that appeared to be close to her…maybe things wouldn't have been as tense between us.

I shook my head, feeling my crown slide down my hair a bit. Placing it correctly in the right spot, I lifted my chin as I forgot of my own personal worries. I could feel my lips curve up into a smirk in an attempt to act like my old self once again, but it didn't feel right…

I stepped in front of a set of double doors, waiting patiently as a pair of guards opened them after I had given them the signal. I had to clear my thoughts, and focus on the important aspects that would affect my world directly…

The old men and women stood from their spots briefly before sitting back down in formal recognition. By the looks on their faces, I could tell I wasn't the only crabby person here, so I could only hope this would go quickly since we all wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

Greetings were exchanged and smiles were traded back and forth. When all formalities were finished, I sat in my spot at the head of the crescent-shaped table before crossing my legs in a professional manner. Leaning back in my chair, I waved my hand forward as a signal for the meeting to commence.

* * *

I let out a heavy sigh of relief, thanking the Goddesses for a successful job well done. We had just passed the guard's inspection, and now I was home free…

Shivering violently, I pulled forward my blanket to protect my body from the morning cold. The pink sky was nowhere to be found as I peeked out the window of the carriage to look up at the black abyss full of many stars. Every clop of the horses made me wonder if I was making the right choice, always forcing me to reconsider my decision before confirming it was what had to be done…

I asked Coraline if she was feeling cold; however, she promptly replied with a tired "no" before resting her head back on a pillow with ease. Maybe it was just me, but I felt as though the chilly feelings I was getting was because of what I anticipated that Dark would do when he found out that I was running away with the help of Anthony and Coraline…

A sensation of guilt washed through me as I once again contemplated my decision, but I then thought of his ignorance and unwillingness to listen to my requests. His arrogance will one day bite him on the behind when he realizes that my leaving wasn't because I was unhappy with where I was at…but because I couldn't stand riding along on my wildly emotional ups and downs with him.

I glanced behind me to look back at the castle gates we just passed, staring at the darkened outline of the massive building before facing forward. I took several deep breaths, feeling as though I hadn't been able to breathe since my day of arriving at the castle. My time was up here, and it was now time to set forth with my plan of escape back to the Factual World…

It would take us about one hour to arrive in Kawt, which according to Anthony, was one of the more prosperous villages of the region; however, the streets were littered with many poverty-stricken families. I planned on visiting a few to listen to their stories of woe, and to allow them to know that there is someone willing to pay attention…

I turned around in my seat once more to look back at my "home" for a moment. Was my decision truly the correct one? Not only was I letting Dark down, but the many Shadows who needed me for my duty…but I couldn't think about that. I had to set a straight face and put forward my best foot. This could go on no longer…I had to go back and see if Simon was ok, and also check up on Malia.

I was sure the worst had come for her though…

"It's supposed to rain in the afternoon, so you should arrive in time to find cover." Anthony said from outside of the carriage. He was guiding the horses by himself, deciding it would be best for him to look out for any danger since he was experienced in archery. He kept his bow by his side as soon as we climbed into the carriage, making sure he was careful to not lose it. It was his only weapon, so we would have to rely on it incase if things turned for the worst.

I decided to not reply to his statement, finding that I couldn't remember how to say 'worry' in Leo. I knew that he understood my predicament though, so I didn't fret over it for too long…

Instead, I stuck to something more simple and appreciative, "Thank you."

"...Your welcome." His voice wavered out slightly.

I sighed in relief, glad to see he accepted it. He was doing far more than I could ever ask for, although he was sort of blind to the true reason why I was leaving. I told him and Coraline that Dark had agreed to let me travel with them, and that he would send someone to pick me up by the end of the day…

Of course that wasn't true…

I was thankful that they lived such a long ways away, so Dark couldn't do anything when he realized I was gone with the help of the two.

I glanced over at Coraline to find her eyes shut and her head awkwardly placed on the pillow. Reaching over gently, I adjusted her head to rest it on my shoulder, feeling as though it was all I could _do_ to thank her before saying my good-bye in the next thirty minutes…

I leaned my head backwards, and slouched in my seat slightly. I trusted Anthony to get us there safely and swiftly…

…

_Whooooeeeoooooh!_

What was that?

I had closed my eyes for about five minutes, unable to fall asleep for my brain was too jumbled. Anthony was shouting something, and I could feel Coraline jerk away from my shoulder as she yelled as well. I quickly glanced out the window, gasping at the sight I saw...

How long had it been since I last saw the monsters of Hyrule Field? The beasts I saw looked very similar, yet their faces contained more menacing features, and their eyes were the darkest of blacks I had ever seen. They were large in size with humanoid shaped bodies, and their teeth were sharp and stained a yellowish-red color from the blood they feasted upon.

_"Iblins!"_ Coraline shouted. I watched as Anthony kicked the horses into high gear, throwing the reins at Coraline as she lurched forward to grab them. Anthony yanked out his bow before aiming at the first Iblin that came nearest to the carriage. He quickly pulled back the string, an orange-colored arrow forming out of thin air as he focused his energy on the bow…

"Don't worry, Queen Eliana, I promise to protect you with all I have!" He released the string, watching as the arrow collided with a powerful force of energy into the chest of an Iblin. I gazed on with amazement, my mind kicking into survival mode afterward as I frantically searched the carriage for any sort of weapon I could find. A cane of some sort came into view, so I rapidly reached out to clutch it in my hands. Sitting up straight, I turned to find a horse about half a size bigger than a normal one riding along side our carriage, its footsteps syncing with our mounts' own.

_Whooooeeeoooooh!_

Two Iblins sat on the horse, the second one carrying a horn. He fiercely blew on it, causing an ear-piercing sound to ring through the air as more Iblins entered the field from the distance. I reached out with my cane, and knocked the horn out of the Iblin's hands, feeling my eyes widen when he grabbed the cane's end. I tried to let go, but it was too late.

I was pulled out of the carriage window.

I could hear Coraline scream loudly, but I didn't think it was because I fell out of the carriage. My breath came out in quick pants after my back collided with the ground, thoughts flashing quickly through my mind as I wondered if this was the point where my life would come to an end.

It all happened so quickly, and in a matter of moments, I was watching a horrendous sight.

I squinted my eyes to see the carriage become overrun with Iblins, which I figured were equivalents to Bokoblins in the Factual World. I attempted to sit up to help Coraline and Anthony, but the ground was spinning like a top…

An extreme burning sensation was felt on my forehead as I remembered what Dark said about how my marking would protect me from anything that wanted to harm me…

I didn't have faith though.

Actually…I sort of felt like I didn't deserve to be saved. My marking was a deal: a safe home for my consent to bear a child. I obviously wasn't keeping the deal, but Dark didn't know that at the moment…

"_Use your life force to shield your body…" _Dark's words rang through my mind,_ "Dig deep into your soul, and search your mind for the energy source. Direct your focus into the body part you wish it to flow through." _

I painfully sat up from my spot on the ground, finding a blurry object riding toward my direction on a horse.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes.

When I felt confident enough to open them again, I witnessed the rare shield I was able to place around my body every once in a while in training. I actually did it…

I saw the object draw ever so closer by the second, becoming clearer with each motion. I glanced behind it to find many flames engulfing the carriage as monsters surrounded the wooden vehicle…gazing on with horror, I watched as they dropped to their knees to dig through the smoldering pile to collect their prize for a successful mission.

_Oh Goddesses… It was my fault._ If I hadn't left the castle…we probably wouldn't have been in this situation…

Goosebumps ran up my arms as I looked on with utter horror etched onto my face. A horrible feeling of déjà vu filled me, and my mind became dull. I could feel a wet hand grab my own, yanking me onto a horse with urgency before guiding us away from the smoldering mess and monsters.

I shoved my face deep into the shirt of whoever grabbed me, letting my tears stain their clothing as I felt an intense pain shoot through my arm. I hadn't noticed it before, but now that I was tuning back into reality, my arm had been licked by a torch's flame.

Many feelings rushed through me, urging the tears to flow even faster as reality threw itself full force in my direction. Infuriation, then disbelief, and finally an overwhelming sense of guilt flooded my senses…

_No matter where I go…_

I always seem to cause trouble.

I could feel my grasp loosening on whoever saved me, my eyelids becoming heavy. A voice called out to me, asking me to stay with them, but I was afraid.

They saved my life, but what would happen to them? It was proven that I was meant for nothing good…I had to get away!

"Please…let me go." I begged, my eyes focusing on the fabric of a silky dress. Tilting my head upward, I caught sight of short, blond hair, and could feel the owner grabbing hold of my hands to keep me steady on the horse.

"I'll take you to the village, and then I'll release you. I didn't see what happened to Anthony, but as a subject and a friend who saw that you were in need of my assistance, I will protect you at all costs."

It was obvious who the voice belonged to, but I had a difficult time believing it at first.

It was the young and sweet Coraline, who held humble values and had made mistakes throughout life. Who proved that although she was younger than I, she was wise beyond my years. Who lived a life full of riches and errors, but didn't appear to regret a single one…

She was no longer the innocent teenager I had first met in the library, but a strong woman who had just dedicated herself to protecting me from any danger although she was just as physically capable as I was…

I turned my gaze downward to my hands, finding them bloodstained from where I had held onto Coraline. Her corset was doused in the liquid, and she continued to grunt ferociously with each bounce the horse caused. I wanted to scream at the sight for her, but my act of weakness would be unforgivable. She was acting strong for me…so I must be strong for her…

After many minutes of blind traveling, I had spotted a windmill in the distance sitting just to the left of the sunrise. A whole village appeared to be illuminated by the sun's glow, directing us to safety from the possibility of more danger. Guiding the horse she was able to save just before the carriage was burnt down, Coraline slowed the animal down to a steady walk, mentioning in a quiet tone of our safety.

"..." We rode in silence for many minutes, attempting to rearrange our thoughts before speaking them…

Five minutes. Five minutes were all it took for those monsters to overpower us.

I could hear quiet gasps coming from the girl sitting in front of me. She was crying from the possible loss of her fiancé.

I couldn't keep quiet anymore. "Just drop me off here, Coraline, I will walk the rest of the way. Or if you would like, allow me to take the horse back while you go on ahead."

"...What do you mean?" She stuttered out, turning her red face toward me.

"We have to go back for Anthony…what if he escaped?"

"...You are my first priority. As much as I love my fiancé, I can't jeopardize the Sothiya's life."

Taking a few fast breaths, I decided to not provoke her further. She was having a difficult time as it was, so it would be in our best interest to focus on making it to the village in one piece.

I grabbed the end of my long-sleeved shirt and pulled as hard as I could. The fabric tore without much complaint due to the cheap material it was made out of. I originally wore the shirt because I knew it would help me blend in with the crowd, and was great for maneuverability. Anthony was quite skeptical when he saw me wearing it, but I dismissed his thoughts by telling him it would keep me warm in the morning and cool in the afternoon.

Seeing that one sleeve wouldn't be enough, I tore off the other-which was singed from the fire-before asking Coraline to stop the horse. With only little complaint from the younger girl, we settled ourselves on the ground.

"Raise your shirt for me please." I commanded in a no-nonsense tone, turning her weary gaze down with a defiant look. I was just glad she was wearing a two-piece dress so I wouldn't have to worry about the skirt.

Coraline gave out a loud hiss as I touched the large wound on her stomach. It stretched from one side to the other; however, it wasn't as deep as I had originally anticipated.

"This will only be temporary until we can get you to a doctor…" I wrapped the thin fabric around her waist, frowning when I saw it become drenched in a matter of seconds. Perhaps if we had a potion to help stop the bleeding, I wouldn't worry too much…everything was lost back at the carriage though.

"Do you think the baby will be ok?"

I froze in my spot. How could I forget? Surely if she was with child, it would be in its earliest of stages. I didn't know much about babies and pregnancy, for I was an only child and I never had to worry about it myself...

"I-I… I don't know." The girl drove her face deep into her hands, a soft whine emitting from her lips. I lifted her from the ground, careful to not injure her further before guiding her back onto the horse. We had to get to a doctor as soon as possible!

I sat behind Coraline, grabbing the reins from her hands before praising her for her hard work. Her face was becoming paler by the minute, and I could feel her limbs losing strength as blood loss became an issue.

In all honesty, I should had been scared. I had never been in a situation quite like this one before, but this strange feeling of devotion was pushing me forward. I was going to do everything in my power to help this girl…

By the time we had reached the village though, Coraline was unconsciousness, and her body was covered in a cold sweat. An infection was most likely setting its roots in, but if we could find someone who could provide us with some antibiotics, the infection may be stopped.

The gates to the village were surprisingly unguarded, considering how close it was located to the castle. In a way, I was sort of glad…if the guards saw me, I would undoubtedly be taken back to the castle; however, they would certainly be able to save Coraline…

I guess I was happy that I wouldn't have to make the decision of taking her to the guards, for it would be either my happiness or Coraline's well-being…

The answer would had been simple though:

Coraline's well-being was far more important, whether she be a stranger or my closest friend in this world full of foreign ideas.

I searched diligently for any sign of a doctor's office, but none had caught my eye. The smell of cooked meat invaded my nostrils, reminding me of how I had skipped breakfast, and my hair stuck to my neck in an unpleasant way because of my sweat. My lack of sleep was beginning to catch up to me as well along with the pain from my wound on my forearm. Coraline and I were both at our wits' ends, but we couldn't stop.

Since there was no sight of any help, I decided to stop at the local residential homes in search for anyone willing to provide care. Only few people were outside, and almost all of them seemed to be in worse shape than Coraline and myself. They all smelled foul, and I noticed that some of them were too crippled to even walk…yet another example of sadness for these people…

Tying the horse's reins to a pole, I left Coraline in her state, promising to be back soon (although she probably couldn't hear me). The first house I approached had several candles illuminating the inside. It was a small home made of eroding logs, creating a homey feeling on the outside all though it was surrounded by poverty-stricken families.

Stepping onto the porch, I peaked into the window before raising my fist to knock on the door. Before I could touch the wood, my fist froze.

_Wait_. I was supposedly a royal figure to this world…I couldn't just knock on some rundown home saying that my friends and I were overrun by a group of Iblins while I was attempting to run away from the king. They would ask me why I was outside of the castle and call in some guards to take me home! And not only that, but they would undoubtedly recognize that I wasn't from this land…my accent was terrible, and my Leo was still sort of choppy.

I stood for several moments, feeling my arms cross over my chest when a cold wind blew by. What should I do? I couldn't leave Coraline in this weather, especially in her state. Should I try to negotiate with these people, or wait for someone to walk by and turn us in?

Snapping my fingers, a sudden idea flashed across my mind. Honestly, it wasn't too bad as long as I kept my cool and played the part correctly…

The disguising technique Dark taught me was finally going to come in handy! I was still working on using my magic to change my skin color, but eye and hair color would have to do for now...

Glancing around the area briefly, I smiled when I saw no one in my general area. The technique was a fast process, and I could hold to it for a good ten to twelve hours, so I had nothing to worry about.

I glanced into the window to stare at my reflection, nodding my head firmly when I saw a girl who looked like me, but had red eyes and long, blond hair. I swiftly knocked on the door repeatedly, feeling disheartened with each rap that was unanswered.

However, by the third round of knocking, a middle-aged woman opened the door.

"Yes?"

She had scarlet red hair that accented her eyes well along with the many freckles that dotted her nose. Her wrinkles became more evident when she squinted her eyes at me for a moment before grabbing a pair of glasses out of her pocket. Placing them in front of her eyes, she looked me up and down for a few seconds, causing my heart to quicken its pace.

Oh no... she knows.

The woman reached her hand out. "My goodness! Are you ok?!" She grabbed my hand a little too roughly, inspecting my forearm as I was once again reminded of how painful my burn mark was. I didn't mind her touching it, but I pulled my arm away in haste, remembering that Coraline was still waiting for me.

"-Uh-my younger sister and I ran into some trouble just outside of town with a group of Iblins," I paused carefully, attempting to find the correct words as the woman rose her eyebrows in surprise, "and we came through in hopes for some help."

I crossed my toes inside the boots I was wearing, feeling my body tense up as the woman gave me a calculating look. I felt as though she was looking straight through my lie (and don't get me wrong, I hated lying to good people), but when a small alarmed look crossed her visage, I became curious.

"Where is your sister?" She asked, turning around briefly to look inside the house, "I can help you with whatever you need; however, my husband is asleep, so we must stay quiet."

I nearly cried when she said those words, thanking the woman dearly for her kindness. I was honestly expecting to be turned away a couple of times during my search, but this was better.

I ran back to Coraline, shaking her shoulder in an attempt to awaken her. I could see her eyelids flutter lightly before she a weak croak escaped her chapped lips. Lifting her body off the horse, I gasped at the amount of blood that had soaked her dress and my hands. Her hands were a deathly white color, frightening me to the extreme. I hooked my arms under her armpits and dragged her toward the steps of the log house, grunting with each tug as I struggled with her superior body weight. The girl was barely taller than me, but her form was thinner than my own...

With all my might, I pulled Coraline into the woman's house, surprised to see the woman wasn't anywhere to be found. I awkwardly stood in the doorway for a few moments before setting Coraline a stool by the wall. I stayed close by her side, wiping away the sweat from her forehead as I hushed her pained cries.

"I'm really cold…" She muttered. Reaching to her forehead, I pulled away quickly when I felt how hot her skin was… In two or three hours, she'll be too weak to even stand... let alone sit up straight!

"I know... There is a nice woman willing to help us, so I promise to clean up your wound as soon as possible, ok?" Coraline didn't answer me, but I could tell she was happy by the way she squeezed my hand.

_SLAM!_

I jumped in my spot, looking down at Coraline to see if she had heard the sound as well. Masculine shouts were coming down from the hall along with higher-pitched ones. The woman's husband probably woke up...

"_What were you thinking?! Letting a bunch of swine into our home…" The deep-voice said._

"_The girl was injured and needed help! I can't just leave her and her sister alone when they are need!"_

"_Kira... Have you seen the house we are living in?! We are in more need than them! And we don't have the supplies to just give away... Make them leave before I do it myself." _

My heart nearly stopped at his words.

"_They need our help, Geremy! We can spare a few bandages, can't we?"_

"_Yes, and then word will get around that we are giving away free stuff! We don't live in the nicest part of town…people will come running to us!"_

"_But-"_

"_NO."_

Stomps echoed down the short hall as a huge, burly man came barreling through. In my frightened state, I clutched onto Coraline before dragging her to the floor, listening to her hiss as her wound opened up some. I apologized quickly, staring wide-eyed at the feral, red eyes of the man.

He hissed quietly, "Get out."

I didn't need him to tell me a second time.

I moved with Coraline as quickly as I could, tripping and scraping my knees upon the cobblestone ground outside of the house. I placed Coraline back on her spot on the horse before turning back to the house for a final look. The huge man stood with his wife looking over his shoulder, carrying a large axe in a threatening way as if we would try something funny...

I climbed onto the horse, brushing off the animal's complaints as I kicked his sides to make him move.

I was halfway down the street, refusing to make eye contact with the people on the streets. I felt saddened by our predicament, but I was sure I would have cried if I saw that the poor was in an even worse condition than us.

I decided to try a different neighborhood; one that wasn't impecunious-looking, yet wasn't full of wealthy citizens…I was afraid someone would recognize me.

Time was running out, but I had to do whatever I could for Coraline. And not only that, but Anthony could still be out in the country, along with the fact that Dark probably knew I was missing by now…

* * *

**A.N.: I have to end it here. I've prolonged this for too long… Anyway, I've been playing around with this idea, so I may put this story on a short hold while I focus on another idea I've been dying to try out. We'll see how things go though... **

**Thanks so much to all of my readers, but I would greatly appreciate it if you could tell me how you thought this chapter was, or a small synopsis of how you felt! See you later! :)**


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